Zombie Killer
by TriceNorthman
Summary: A mortal virus has turned the population into zombies, leaving only a few survivors. Will they able to escape or end up undead?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there, here I am with a new fic. **

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**Zombie Killer**

**Chapter 1**

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**Eric POV**

I was so fucking tired of this world that when I put the gun inside my mouth for the umpteenth time, I thought about pulling the trigger and end with all. But what would I get doing it? Nothing would change if I disappeared. The infected people would keep chasing the few humans we had survived the deadly virus that devastated the whole planet. How did we get to this situation?

Scientists were trying to save the human race from any possible disease. They wanted to turn us immune without even thinking of the consequences.

The infected people who used to be like us, the survivors, were just empty shells driven by instinct, searching for food in all of us, biting us, and attacking us like wild dogs.

That was the world we had to live in now, and it was crap.

"Northman! Still in the clouds?" For some reason I haven't yet come to understand, I allowed a jerk named Bill Compton, to come with me. I found him hidden in an abandoned warehouse, crying like a baby, and he begged me to take him with me. I don't know why I agreed. He never kept silent and caused trouble all the time. I should have gotten rid of him at the first chance, but I was unable to. "We gotta go before those fuckers reach us, don't ya think?"

I didn't bother to answer him, it wasn't worth it.

"Let's get out of here."

Luckily my Jeep had survived the disaster, so at least I hadn't to walk from one side to another with the zombies lurking. Much less at night when it is almost impossible to see them until you have them all over you.

"And where are we going? We've tracked the area and there's nothing worthwhile." Compton was already sitting in the passenger seat when I got in the car. "Someone arrived first."

"I think it was me who tracked that damn mall up and down." I snapped, giving him a dirty look.

"We're a team, Northman," he said, patting my shoulder. "Besides, I was watching those things so they didn't attack you." Did he really mean it? It can't be true he believes his own bullshit.

"You were hidden in the car, with doors and windows closed. How were you watching exactly?"

"It's getting dark." He said no more, changing the subject. "We should look for shelter before it's completely dark. Darkness is not a good ally for us." Yeah, I also had a bad ally in mind.

But he was right. Going out there at night was not safe – not even driving – and the best thing was to find a secluded place to spend the night. The zombies move in herds, like animals, and if a large group surrounded the car…we would turn in food for them in seconds.

The headlights showed off the zombies that walked on both sides of the road, even getting out of the nearby forest, to chase the Jeep in a vain attempt to reach us.

"I hate these things…" He didn't end the phrase when I heard a shot.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I took the gun from his hand, and I hesitated for a few seconds to kick him out of the vehicle or not. It would be so easy to get rid of him in just a moment… The temptation was enormous, but what kind of human being would be if I did?

"You can't shoot a fucking gun inside a damn car!" I yelled. I was mad and pissed off, and Compton had given me another reason to hate and kill him. "I shouldn't even let you go armed!"

"Just trying to help!" Help us to get dead? I decided it wasn't worth further discussion, so I started the car and took off.

"Where will we go?" I could only roll my eyes and focus on the road. The zombies wandered aimlessly, raising their arms toward the Jeep, but after a couple of miles I stopped seeing them. They concentrated in large cities, where they could feed more easily, but they would soon start moving to the suburbs to keep feeding.

"We'll seek shelter near water, as always." I answered no more. After a whole day running from one side to another, looking for supplies, and fleeing from the infected people, I needed a shower. But the closest I would get it'd be a river or a pond. That'd be more than enough.

I had driven by the same area a few times, so I knew we were close.

"Did you find anything to eat?"

"We won't eat until we arrive." I didn't even bother to look at him, although I knew he probably hated me at that time. Better, I hated him as well. "And shut up, we don't want to attract unexpected visitors."

About twenty minutes later we reached the place where we had usually camped. I worked on the tent, and went to wash up. The river was quiet, and I would be able to hear whoever or whatever getting closer, so I'm not worried about zombies showing up without notice. They didn't know how to walk through the water, they were pretty clumsy, and were heard from miles away before they appeared. At least in this area we had advantage over them.

As I washed myself I could hear the incessant hum of Compton from inside the tent, as if he was spending a weekend with some friends.

"Jerk…" I muttered softly, and a moment later I heard him going out.

"Beautiful night…" Beautiful nights were gone. "We're running out of food. We should get out of here and try another city."

"I see you're not smarter when the sun sets." His answer was a snort, but I kept washing myself. "Cities are dangerous, plagued by zombies, and stay close would be like wearing an "open buffet" poster. We have enough supplies for a couple days more."

"Then what?" Was he demanding an answer from me? "I think you have no idea what you're doing, Northman." I got out of the water quickly, no shirt, and some of the scars on my body glistening under the moonlight.

"Then get out!" I couldn't take it anymore, and I punched him in the jaw. "You're just a coward asshole who can't do anything other than complain!"

I punched him again, this time he fell into the water.

"Get the fuck out, Compton! Take care of yourself, if you can." I left him lying there, grabbed my shirt and went to the tent to rest for a couple of hours. I wouldn't be able to sleep much more and wanted to collect it all before dawn.

I didn't hear Compton getting into the tent, but when I opened my eyes I saw him sleeping on the other side, as far away from me as possible. I felt bad for hitting him, but the guilt didn't last more than a few seconds. Actually Compton had crossed a line, and my patience ran out completely. Just looking at his face made me want to beat him up.

I left the tent to get some air and clear my head, and then I realized. I had slept more than I thought, it was already morning, and we were out in full view. I glanced around, but thankfully we did not seem to have visitors.

"Compton, wake up!" I just had to pick up the tent, and the weapons I had stored in the sleeping bag, just in case. The food was in the Jeep, like the rest of the supplies, so Compton had to wake up and we'd get out of here. "Collect your shit, if you want to live."

I almost had everything into the car, I just needed Compton to drag his ass out of the tent in order to get out.

"Here you go." He muttered, throwing the folded tent at my feet. He got into the car, like he was the fucking master.

"Let's get something clear, Compton." I said when I looked at him through the open window. "You mean nothing to me, understand? I don't give a shit if you live or die, but for some reason I let you come with me. I don't even remember why I did it, but here we are. But things don't work like this, I'm the boss here, and if you don't like it, get out. It's that simple."

I did not expect to reply, and of course he didn't. I positioned myself behind the wheel, and we returned to the road. For a few minutes I didn't see a single zombie, what gave me the illusion that the world hadn't gone to hell. But as I accelerated, the Jeep's noise attracted them to us like flies to garbage.

"We should make a bomb and kill them all." Compton's idea was not bad at all, but only a few would die. Surely there would be millions wandering around, and killing a few dozen wouldn't change anything. "I'd be even capable of die with them if I had to. I'd rather that than be bitten and turned into a nasty creature, walking around aimlessly, and feeding on dogs or human remains."

"I'll put a bullet between your eyes if they bite you." I replied sarcastically, although I'd even do it before they bit him.

As much as it bothered me to recognize it, Compton was right and we would be run out of supplies soon. Also, finding gas was a priority if I wanted to keep using the car. We registered the stations on our way, but apparently people panicked and took everything with them. It was the same story in the stores, restaurants and houses. People broke the windows and doors to grab the first thing they could find, fighting against each other and arguing, giving the infected the perfect opportunity to attack them.

"We haven't seen survivors for weeks." He muttered. They were the first words out of Compton's mouth that morning. I was tired of his attitude last night, so I expected him to behave like an asshole again.

"They can't all be dead. It is impossible." I refused to believe it. It had to be someone somewhere. "We have met other survivors before, and we'll find more again."

"Then we better have the guns ready." I looked sideways at him, wishing he wasn't serious. I didn't expect to have to shoot someone who was not infected, but I might have to.

I laid eyes on the road, avoiding some bled and gutted animals. "I hope we don't have to come to that. I know some people have behaved…"

"They were willing to kill us for a couple of bottles of water." He cut me off. "And you gave them no more." He added with a snort. "We were lucky to find some more."

"They had kids with them, Compton. What did you want me to do?" I'm not a monster. "Besides, you said it yourself, we found more water. Now shut up and pray we get fuel to keep on the road. We're not in the best season for hiking."

"Just saying that survival instinct is the strongest, and if people can kill for it, we should too."

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**Sookie POV**

I still could not believe all the people I knew were dead. But it was worse, much worse. They were zombies now whose bodies were half eaten. It made me nauseous just thinking about it, and when I had to kill one of them, I threw up what little I had eaten.

It was horrible, and although I didn't want to do it again, I knew I would have no choice if I wanted to keep living.

I was lucky to be home when this madness began. I could pick up some of my stuff and run off. Clothing, food, and my car keys. I even took my Gran's favorite pendant, the one she always wore around her neck, and she gave me before dying. I never left home without it, and at least it made me feel a little better each time I stroked it.

My car, unfortunately, didn't get me very far. I just got out of town before it broke, and then I hid in the back store of an abandoned shop. Luckily the vandals, who took most things, hadn't noticed the back store. The door was thick enough so those things couldn't get in, and I had enough food and water to resist weeks, or even months.

I felt like I was trapped in a cell, but I was safer in there than outside. I heard the zombies walking around the store sometimes, trying to get in, but the boxes I placed against the door prevented them to come in. I couldn't take risks, and I even darkened the windows with black paint.

I was proud of myself for having survived for more than six months without anyone's help. It was not easy, and I was scared to death. But I realized a second later that pride meant nothing anymore. I had killed people – in self-defense, yes – and I probably would turn into one of them if I didn't, but that doesn't make me feel better.

I've always been against guns, in fact I hadn't held a gun until I had to use it to kill a zombie chasing me down the street. I ran and ran without looking back, but I tripped and fell down. I was convinced my time had come, and made peace with myself. I just prayed the zombie killed me because I didn't want to wake up like one of them. That would have been worse than death. I moved my left hand slightly, feeling something on the ground, and when I opened my eyes I saw it was a gun.

Grabbing it with all my strength, I pointed directly at the head. I closed my eyes, unable to keep them open when I pulled the trigger. I heard a thunderous noise piercing my ears, and then something warm and dense on my face.

I yelled so loud that I thought I would rip my own throat off, but it didn't work. No one came to help me, nor ever would.

I got up as I could, pushing the body off me. I gripped the gun tighter and ran from there. I got to get home take shelter, grab some things, and the rest is history.

The sun was already out – I could see it through the small window – and the outside looked calm. I could go out to try to find someone else, or maybe a car in which to go away.

A couple of weeks after arriving at the store, I found a notebook and some pens, so I started writing a diary. Something that someone would find when I was already gone. Perhaps it is pessimistic to think that way, but who could be positive in this kind of world? What I knew was no more. People who were part of my life were dead. Or worse, infected, and now they were chasing the few survivors that we were still around.

I barely slept at night. The zombies were more active in the dark, and they used to hit with their bodies on doors and windows. I don't think they were looking for a way to come in. They just walked hitting what it was in front of them, or hitting against each other. I often woke up startled by a noise, focusing the flashlight toward the door to check that, indeed, was still closed.

Every single day I wondered, how long would it take me to get crazy? Would arrive the day when I gave up and let those monsters to devour me? Would I end up by pulling the trigger off against my temple?

If the zombies came in, I wouldn't waste the few bullets I had with them. Or at least not all of them. I would reserve one for me, and I'd die in peace, knowing that I wouldn't be a monster like them.

The sun was shining so brightly that it was comforting to feel its warmth on my skin. For a few seconds I convinced myself that I was actually dreaming, it was all a nightmare, and when I opened my eyes none of this would be real. But the illusion did not last more than a few moments when I began hearing some of the zombies wandering from side to side. I could slip away without being seen, but without a car, what good would do it for me? I couldn't take too many supplies in my backpack and keep running with that much weight. The zombies would reach me in a matter of minutes, and then not even all the bullets in the world would save me.

I was screwed and locked up in this damn place. I wanted to turn into a ball on the floor and cry until running out of tears, but I knew it would do me no good, and I'd only end up with a terrible headache.

And then I heard a sound very different from the usual.

A car.

I grabbed my bag and started putting everything I could in, cans of food, water, first aid kit I had found, and my diary. I did not want to leave it behind, but I needed to hurry up before whoever was out there, left.

I knew it was risky to go out like this, especially because I had no idea what kind of people was out there, but I couldn't stay in that store any longer, I was completely convinced of that.

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**Eric POV**

I don't know why I stopped the Jeep at the gas station in a small town that seemed deserted. I had only seen a few houses that obviously had been ransacked and abandoned, a few bars and shops, but nothing more.

"We'll try." I muttered to Compton, and both of us got out of the car.

I had my gun ready if I encountered any unexpected surprises, and walked into the first store that was right next door, while Compton checked the suppliers and the inside of the gas station.

I did not expect a miracle, and didn't believe in them, but if we got some fuel to keep going, I would be happy.

The interior of the shop was not too messy, and even the majority of products were still on the shelves. It was weird 'cause the windows were darkened with black paint, liquor boxes blocking some holes, but it didn't seem someone had come to destroy everything and take supplies.

I opened the empty backpack I took from the car, and started getting some food cans and water bottles. There was more than I expected to find, and for the first time in a long, long time, I was grinning. Luck finally seemed to smile at me, until I heard a noise.

"Who's there?" I asked, knowing if it was a zombie, it wouldn't answer to me.

I walked slowly towards the back of the store, the gun ready and pointing high enough to blow the head of what appeared in front of me. I heard breaths, slow and deep, like zombies, and then stealthy and flicks steps. If it was a zombie, it was moving easier than the rest.

"I'm gonna blow your fucking head off." I mumbled.

"Please, don't." I heard a weak voice, and I pulled the gun down.

"Who are you? Let me see you."

I had lowered the gun, but I was still ready if it was a trap. Well, or something like that.

A lovely girl appeared before me. Her long blonde hair fell in waves around her face and shoulders. Her deep blue eyes, the same blue like sky, looked at me with fear and hope at the same time.

"Have you been bitten?" I asked no more. The truth is I was paralyzed by her beauty, but I couldn't waste time if I wanted to return the car before the zombies trapped me.

"No. I've been hiding here for the last six months. They try to get in sometimes," she said, her hands up, and her sweet voice ringing in my ears. "None have succeeded."

"How did you survive six months here?" I was puzzled. How did she get it? Was she alone or someone else was here with her?

"My car broke down a few miles away, and I was lucky to get this far. The store was empty, I hid in the back, and I've hardly gone outside. There's plenty of food and water inside…" She clung so tightly to her backpack that I feared she was getting hurt.

"I have a car outside. We're looking for supplies and gas." I didn't know what else to say.

"We?" She asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Um…yes. I'm with another guy, we travel together." Although I don't know why I was still standing Compton. "You can come with us, if you want." She relaxed slightly, and showed me a shy smile. "I'm Eric, by the way. Eric Northman." I extended my hand, and she took it a few seconds later.

"Sookie Stackhouse."

I heard a familiar noise behind me. The infected knew we were in the store, and it'd be a matter of seconds before we were completely surrounded and trapped.

"We should go." Sookie grabbed the gun tightly, and I told her that she didn't separate from me. "Is there a back door?"

"Yeah. In the back store. I've used it many times to get out." I nodded, and opened the bag. I would take what I could carry before leaving, and I grabbed Sookie's bag as well. It weighed a ton, and she couldn't have carried it with her for a long time. "Let's go."

I opened the back door, looking from side to side. "Clear. The Jeep is in the gas station, can you see it from here?" Sookie nodded again, and I did the same. "I want you to run to the car, and get in, okay? I'll be right behind you. We'll get out here right now."

"Thanks, Eric."

"Don't thank me yet." I said with a smile.

Sookie ran and some zombies started walking toward her. I wouldn't allow them to catch her, and I used my knife to kill them quietly. The gun is more effective, true, but it would attract more, and we didn't need more problems.

I looked at the Jeep and saw Sookie getting in the passenger seat. She was safe so I just had to run over there and pray that Compton had found gas. If not, we would be screwed.

"Compton, let's go!" I yelled when he was near the Jeep, and fortunately, I saw him throwing the hose down. Gasoline began spreading through the ground, so at least I hoped he would have filled the tank and cans in the trunk.

"Get in the back!" I yelled, and as soon as he was inside and closed the door, we got the hell out of there.

"Who the hell is?" He asked, pointing at Sookie.

"Sookie, and she's coming with us."

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	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks a lot for all the support with this fic, you're great.**

**Hope you like this one.**

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**Chapter 2**

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**Sookie POV**

I still couldn't believe I was safe, and out of that store after so long.

I thought I was hallucinating when I heard his voice in the store, but it was true. True! After so much time alone, my situation had improved considerably in the end. The future was uncertain, yes, but at least I could breathe fresh air, and talk with other people.

People like Eric Northman.

Seeing him at the store, my heart skipped a beat, and not just because I was with other human being. Eric is a man with blond hair like the sun, eyes as blue as the ocean, and very, very attractive. So attractive that I find hard not to look at him sideways in the car. Not only because he saved my life, something he did 'cause he wanted to. He could have taken supplies without worrying about what happened to me, but instead he rescued me and took me with him.

"Thank you for saving my life and get me out of there, Eric." I said, breaking the silence. "Had it not been for you, the zombies would have gotten to come in sooner or later."

Eric turned his head and gifted me a crooked smile. "No need to thank me, Sookie. It's nice to find someone else out there."

"You two are the first survivors I've seen. Some men got into the store, but I knew I wouldn't be safe with them. They gave me a bad feeling." And I shrugged, at the same time I felt a chill running through my back.

"Are you cold?" Despite the sun, the day was cold. Spending so much time locked in that back store had made me used to hot in there, and I couldn't stop shaking in the car.

"I'm fine." I whispered, but Eric stopped the Jeep in the middle of the road.

"What the fuck are you doing, Northman?" The other man snapped, who I only knew as Compton.

Eric took a look in the rearview mirror, and yelled at him to shut up. "You're trembling." He took off his jacket and put it over my shoulders. I opened my mouth to protest, but he was faster than me.

"You're cold. Better?" I nodded several times, enjoying the warmth and the jacket's scent. It smelled like him, and I closed my eyes to inhale deeply. "Thank you. Guess I got used to the heat in the store."

"Why didn't you run away?" Compton asked me, moody.

"My car broke down," I snapped. "I didn't know the town, and I wouldn't have gone too far." I added, more calmly. I did not feel good being so rude to Compton.

"I have no guns to defend myself with, apart from this that I found by chance. I'd never used a gun before, so I had to learn quickly." I breathed deeply, letting Eric's male scent to intoxicate me again. "I did not know what to do, and I hid in the store. At first I thought about picking up a few things and leave, but I wouldn't have gotten anything without a car."

"It's normal. Well, I'm glad we found each other." Eric is so sweet and kind that makes me smile all the time. But then I see Compton rolling his eyes, and for some reason I feel ashamed of myself. Why? Do I feel ashamed for thinking of Eric as someone who I might be interested in?

"Don't know why I have to sit in the backseat," our traveling companion complained. "I was here before her." What was this, kids fighting?

"Compton, why don't you just shut up for a change?" Eric snapped.

"He's right." I interrupted them before the discussion got out of hand. "At the gas station we had to leave running, but we haven't seen a single zombie for miles." I said, shrugging. "Stop the car and we'll change seats."

"I like her idea." Compton replied with a creepy smile on his thin lips, and I had to suppress the urge to slap him. "Stop the car, Northman, and I'll finally be able to stretch my legs."

From the corner of my eye I saw Eric rolling his, and the Jeep stopped completely in the middle of the road.

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**Eric POV**

It wasn't safe to stop near the trees, but in less than thirty seconds Sookie and Bill changed places. She sat behind my seat, which gave the opportunity to see her in the rearview mirror.

She was still wearing my jacket – was huge on her – but I liked the idea of her scent soaked on my clothes.

"If you're tired you should get some sleep." I said, and a smile immediately spread across her full, sensuous lips. "I'll keep driving until night, or if we get to a nearby town. I don't know the area well, but I'm sure we'll find a place sooner or later."

"I'm not very tired, so we could chat, if you don't mind." I winked at her, and I got a giggle for response.

"As you wish." I looked at Compton and saw him with his eyes closed. The jerk had waited to be in the front seat to fall asleep. Amazing, he couldn't be more idiot. "Before everything went to hell, I worked as a mechanic in my own shop."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "It's great, I never learnt to fix things, maybe that's why my car broke down." I laughed, and she did the same. "I was a waitress in a bar where all the rednecks thought they had the right to pinch my butt."

I nearly growled at her words. Someone as sweet as Sookie does not deserve to be treated in that way.

"The other waitresses were used to, and they told me it was normal, but I couldn't stand it. Most of the men were of my father's age, and it was disgusting they behaved that way. People have no decency and manners today?" I grinned, because I understood what she meant perfectly.

"A girl groped me when I stopped by the roadside to help her." I said no more, and I laughed. "I saw her car with the hood open, and decided to give her a hand. I never thought she would launch at me the way she did." I laughed now, but it was a very uncomfortable moment.

"And what did you do?" When she smiled her eyes lit up like two stars.

"I told her I was flattered, but she had to stop." I blushed. How is it possible that I was blushing while telling her the absurd story? This had never happened to me before.

"And did she stop?" She asked me, funny.

"More or less." I scratched the back of my neck, as if trying to pretend. "She got her hand under my shirt, and not for another car passing by, she probably would have gone much further."

"Wow, I just can't believe how brazen people are today." And her smile suddenly faded.

"Sookie?"

"Were. People were brazen." Yeah, I found it hard to think in past too. "I hated those men who overstep with me, they had no right, but now that I think on it, doesn't seem so important."

"At least we're lucky to be alive." I said, without knowing what else to say. "Wanna hear some music? I think the battery won't suffer too much for a couple of songs." Anything to see her smiling again.

"Won't we wake up your friend?"

"He's not my friend." I replied quickly. "And I don't care if he wakes up. I'm sick of him."

I turned on the radio and the CD player. I had recorded several songs, and it was the last I'd listened before this madness started.

"Is that Adele?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah…I used to date a girl who was obsessed with her music." We just dated a couple of times, but she told me her whole life. "I can turn it off if you want."

"No, I like it." For the next few minutes, I heard Sookie humming, and although I hated to admit, I did the same. "There won't be new songs anymore, or enough people to listen the ones that exist now. We will all end up disappearing sooner or later. One by one."

"You cannot think that way, Sookie."

I wasn't exactly the king of positivism – much less with someone like Bill Compton sitting next to me – but I wanted, rather needed, to think that not everything was over. Maybe it was just a cruel test humanity must overcome in order to move forward.

"Do you believe in God, Eric?" Good question. "Because if it really exists, and it's seeing what's happening…why it hasn't done anything about it? Why are we all suffering for all those we have lost and loved? If this is the end…is really worth it to keep fighting?"

I stopped the car suddenly, and sat there staring at one point in the distance. I don't know why I did it, but I opened the door, got out of the car, and headed for the back seat. Sookie opened her door, staring at me, waiting for an explanation.

Sookie opened her mouth to say something, but putting my hands on either side of her face, I kissed her slowly. My fingers couldn't stop caressing the soft skin of her face, while my lips were lost on hers.

"It's worth to fight for this." I murmured against her mouth.

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**Sookie POV**

"What the fuck are you doing?"

The most romantic moment of my life, and it was cut off by the shrill voice of Compton. He was looking at us from the front seat as if we had lost our mind.

Eric slowly pulled away from me, but kept his hands on my face. I couldn't stop looking into his eyes.

"AHHHHHH!" I yelled, when over his shoulder, I saw we were not alone. A zombie was behind Eric, about to bite him, but he turned at full speed and stabbed him in the forehead.

The zombie fell to the ground, Eric grabbed his knife, and I felt my heart trying to get out of my chest. It was beating so fast that I could hardly breathe normally. I felt I'd pass out, but Eric placed himself in front of me, staring at me, and I suddenly was feeling much better.

"Easy, everything's okay. Sookie, it's alright, okay?"

The next thing I remember is waking up in the back seat of the Jeep, still wearing Eric's jacket, and wrapped up in a blanket. Eric told me it'd be good for me to rest, but the truth is that I was fine. I was until that zombie showed up and was about to…

"Welcome back." I heard Eric's voice whispering in my ear. Opening my eyes I saw him looking at me, and brushing the hair off my face. "You've been sleeping for a while. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I sat in the seat, and looking out the window I saw it was already dark. How long had I been sleeping? "Where are we?"

"On the outskirts of a small town." Across the Jeep were a bonfire and a tent. "I took a detour to see if we could get hold of more supplies, but it was getting dark and it wasn't safe to stay. I'll go tomorrow morning, and I'll get back as soon as possible."

"Are you gonna leave us?" The panic came over me as I heard his words. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I felt like a little girl who doesn't want to be separated from her mother. "I think…I think it'd be better to stay together. I dunno, I just…"

"What?"

How could I tell him that Compton made my hair stand on end without looking paranoid? He was with Eric more time than me, and I'm sure he had helped him a lot more than me. However, I did not like the way he looked at me, and I had the feeling that he was hiding a dark side.

"It's like a horror movie. When the group broke up, people begin to die one by one." A pathetic explanation, but I couldn't think of anything…less offensive.

"I'll give you two some guns, and I won't be late. I promise." I approached him as close as possible, and looked into his eyes. If I had to emotionally blackmail him, I would. After all there was something between us, otherwise he wouldn't have kissed me.

"I wanna go with you."

After throwing myself into his arms and beg him, he finally agreed. Although instead of leaving early, we would go later and the three of us together. Something told me that staying alone with Compton was not a good idea, and following my instincts never failed me.

"Sorry about earlier." I told him in front of the firelight. Compton was sleeping in the tent, but we were sitting around the fire as if it were a camp. "I don't…I don't usually behave like that, but it's…"

"No need to apologize, Sookie. I know you're scared, 'cause I'm too." He knew how to hide it better than me. "We have been stuck in this mess in a blink, and I think we're not going to get out. There's nothing of the world we lived in, the places where we grew up, or anything else. I even…" But he stopped, looking down.

"What, Eric?"

He shook his head a few times, and finally stared at the fire. "I killed my brother."

All I could do was to take his hand and squeeze it tightly in mine. Any word that would come out of my mouth wouldn't have been a comfort to him, so I remained silent.

"He was bitten in front of me, and I could do nothing to help him." I heard him sobbing, and squeezed his hand again. "I knew there was no turning back, he wouldn't be my brother anymore. In a matter of minutes or hours, he'd turn into one of those monsters, and I couldn't allow it."

"You did the right thing," I muttered. "I also had to…"

"Who was it?"

"She wasn't part of my family, but she was one of my co-workers at the bar." I knew it wasn't the same, but it hurt too. "We were very close. She was the one who taught me everything at work, and told me to talk to her whenever I wanted if I had problems."

"I'm sorry, Sookie."

"I'm sorry too, Eric."

Compton was already asleep when we got into the tent, so Eric offered me to share his sleeping bag. I told him it was not necessary, I could sleep in the car, but he insisted.

His body exuded such warmth that I had to take off his jacket. I felt very, very well, and I slept the whole night.

The next morning I woke up alone in the tent, but I heard them talking – or rather arguing – outside. I didn't know whether to go out or not, I didn't want to get into their businesses, but when I heard my name in Compton's mouth, I decided that I wouldn't stay idly inside.

"What's the problem?" The morning was cold, and I wished I had brought Eric's jacket with me.

They both looked at me, but Compton lowered his head and walked to the Jeep to look for something. I think it was just an excuse to disappear.

"Eric?" I knew at least him would answer me. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Everything's okay." But I didn't buy it. "Come on, we have to pick up all this and go to take a look at that town. I'm sure we'll find something useful, and then we'll leave." I couldn't ask anything else 'cause Eric left to the tent to collect it.

"I know something's going on, and I have the feeling that's my fault." I crossed my arms over my chest, and approached him when he got out. "I do not mean to cause trouble, Eric. And if I have to go…"

"You don't need to go anywhere, Sookie." He interrupted me, his eyes wide. I didn't want to leave either, but the last thing I wanted was to cause problems between them. "Hey, I know we barely know each other, but we kissed. Or I kissed you." Was he blushing? "What I'm trying to say is… Things don't go wrong 'cause you're here, Sookie. I can't stand Compton, and I guess the feeling is mutual. I don't care what he thinks, and on more than one occasion I've been tempted to kick him out of the car and let the zombies to get him." It scared me hearing him talking like that, but he knew him better than me.

"Guess the problem he has is with me, right?" Eric didn't confirm it, but I began to realize what was happening. "I could talk to him, smooth things between us. We're in this together, we like it or not, so…"

"I do not trust him." His answer surprised me, but after careful thinking on it I realized Eric was right. "There's something about him that I don't like. I knew it from the beginning, but I didn't care. I watched him constantly, and since I found you, even more. I don't like the way he looks at you." I didn't like it either, but I decided I wouldn't judge him for it. "I know I have no right to speak in this way 'cause I barely know you, Sookie, but I can't help it. It's like my body and my mind told me that I must protect you, no matter what."

"I can defend myself, Eric." I smiled slightly at him, and hugged him. It made me feel good that Eric cared so much for me, but if Compton was planning to touch a single hair of my head, he'd regret it. "We have to finish packing up before leaving." I whispered against his chest, and felt his hand stroking my hair.

It's so weird to think that only twenty-four hours had passed since we met, but it is as I knew him perfectly. With him I feel good, safe, and I smile again.

Compton did not say a word when he climbed into the back seat, nor when Eric took my hand while we were on our way to the town. The sun was shining brightly, but it was a cold day. I told Eric that he could retrieve his jacket, but he flatly refused, so I wore it again.

If I could read minds, I know I would punch Compton in his face. For some reason he saw me as an enemy, he barely talked to me, and I was sure he would throw me to the zombies to save himself.

But those thoughts were disappearing through the window every time I felt Eric's hand caressing mine. It was as if all problems vanished, and when I looked at him I couldn't stop grinning.

"There may be some abandoned house where we can stay." I said, hoping we were lucky. "Can you imagine? A bathroom and hot water."

"Do you think we'll be so lucky?" He asked me, as if reading my mind, with a raised brow, but a smile on his lips. "I'd settle with frozen water."

Our happiness was gone when we got out of the car and saw the mutilated and eaten bodies on the sidewalks, and on the road. They were everywhere, scattered like garbage. And the smell. God, the smell was unbearable, and I could barely breathe before coughing.

"This is a cemetery," I muttered, and Eric took my hand. Wherever I looked at there were bodies covered in blood, half-eaten organs, and proof of fighting. "I don't think we're gonna find something useful here. There's nothing left."

"We'll try at least."

"Yes, Sookie. Where did you leave your adventure spirit?" Compton's question was like a kick in the stomach, especially when I saw the smile on his face.

"You think this is funny?" I snapped, walking toward him, and facing him. "These people have died in a horrible way, Compton. Those beasts attacked them, dug their teeth to rip the limbs off, and fed on them. What has happened here," I said, pointing around me, "is a fucking slaughter!" I shouted, unable to contain myself. "It's the end of everything, and you think it's funny. How can you be a despicable human being?"

"Fuck you, honey!" He came so close to me that I thought he was going to slap me. And he would have, or something much worse, had it not been for the gun pointing at his head.

"Shut the fuck up, Compton!" Eric hissed.

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**I would really love to read your reviews, so hit the big button and send me love.**

**:K**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay, but last night I was watching the new episode of True Blood, so I had no time for anything. **

**:D **

**Here's the new chapter. Hope you like it.**

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**Chapter 3**

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**Eric POV**

"Give me a reason, Bill, and I'll blow your head off at this very moment." I knew he was a coward. He would cry if I pressed a little more, but seeing him threatening Sookie was more than enough. The perfect excuse to put a bullet into his brain.

"Everything's fine," he replied, shrugging, and drawing a creepy smile in his mouth. "Your girlfriend has been nervous, that's all." He turned to look at me, but I kept pointing at him. "Why don't you put the gun down? We're not enemies, the enemy is out there, and we should do what we came to do, and get out of here as soon as possible." He turned away and started walking between the bodies.

"You okay?" Sookie nodded, but she was as white as milk. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault, Eric." She cut me off. Maybe not directly, but somehow I had to take the responsibility for Bill Compton's acts. "Come on," and took my hand. "There's much to do yet."

Sookie was right, the town was a cemetery, and it probably would have been sacked long before we came along. The people, for I could see, weren't warned in time to escape, and the bodies piled up in the streets, and stores.

"Oh my God…" Sookie had opened the door of what seemed to be a small café, and what she saw left her petrified. "They were attacked while they ate, Eric…" We did not need to see all that, at least not Sookie.

"Why don't you wait outside? I'll check if there's something we can take with us." The smell of putrefaction was everywhere, and I felt like throwing up as I started walking between the tables. Sookie was right, these poor people did not even have a chance to run away. It's as if none of them had heard what was happening until it was too late.

"Anything?" Sookie yelled from outside. I could see her through the window, and I shrugged. I hadn't started yet.

I was careful to walk, I did not want to hit them, but things got complicated when I found several bodies on the floor. I could see uniforms so they were waitresses. Everything was so creepy…

I shook my head, trying to forget what I was seeing, and focused on what I came to do. I looked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. It was not a necessity, but I knew we would need it after everything we had seen in this town. I found some cans of food, water containers, and even a rifle and a box of cartridges. Guess the owner of this place did not want any trouble among the customers or outsiders.

I looked at the street when I got out behind the bar, and didn't see Sookie. Where the hell did she go? I told her to stay where I could see her, but she wasn't. I wanted go out and look for her, but there seemed to be no zombies nearby so I'd only have a chance to find something useful in the café.

The back store was open, but someone was faster than us. All I could get were a few pieces of fruit, milk, and some things to cook properly.

I left hurriedly the back store, but something caught my eye. A door ajar – and I wish I never had opened it at all – of what looked like an office.

I covered my mouth and nose as I walked into, but a few seconds after I threw up. I couldn't help it. Sitting behind the desk was a man – the owner of the place, no doubt – with a huge hole where the mouth should be, and the rest of the body eaten to the bone. Literally. There was nothing, his skin had been torn by teeth, and the blood spread across the floor in a huge puddle.

The scene before me looked like something out of a horror movie. Something the principal character – a tough guy who would have seen everything – wouldn't be impressed in the least. But I'm just a mechanic from a small town, I'm not used to arms, much less to see things so horrible like the one in front of me.

I checked the drawers and grabbed more ammunition. I was careful not to touch the body – or what was left of it – but I didn't grab the gun on the floor. It was stained with blood, and it was probably the weapon he used to kill himself.

I left the office, and heard a noise in the café. I prepared the gun, and when I looked I saw one of them walking among the tables, probably attracted by me. I had a perfect angle to kill him, but he suddenly fell to the ground with a blow in the head.

"I thought it'd be best not to use bullets." Sookie said, holding a bloodstained baseball bat in her hands. "We have to save ammunition…"

"You're amazing…" I pressed her against my chest, and kissed her passionately. I had never felt so attracted to anyone, and with Sookie I could barely control myself.

Our tongues fought against each other, stroking themselves, while I pressed her body harder against mine, searching as much contact as possible, and enjoying her soft skin.

"I want you…" she murmured against my mouth, making me to want to possess her right there.

I kissed her again, but we did not have time to do anything else, when I heard the shots.

"What the hell is he doing?" Sookie bent down to pick up the bat, and we got out checking that Compton wasn't completely insane.

"Die, filthy beasts!" Compton was shooting against more than a dozen of zombies who approached us. He practically was playing "zombie shooting", but I grabbed his gun before he made more noise.

"Have you lost your mind? You had to find something useful, not attract them to us." At least we weren't surrounded, but it'd be only a matter of time. "It's supposed we would come to find a place to stay, and now because of you, we can't do it."

"I was just having a little fun!" He pulled out another gun and kept firing. "I'm sure you were getting fun as well." He mumbled the last part, but I saw Sookie blushing. "With that good girl façade… I would fuck her too." No time for me to answer him before Sookie punched him so hard that Bill fall to the ground.

"You're an asshole, Compton!"

Sookie turned around, walked to the Jeep, and I stayed there with my mouth hanging open. Her sweet and fragile appearance was just that; appearance. Under all that sweetness beats the heart of a strong woman who would do anything to defend herself and not to get frightened by others.

"If you wanna die here and now, it's just your business, Bill." I said, giving him the gun back. "But do not bring us into your plans, or I promise you that you'll end up regretting it."

"Is that a threat? Because you're not scaring me, Northman." He placed himself in front of me, staring at me, and stretching all he could to keep up with me. Impossible, but he was still trying. "That bitch clouds your mind. She would just bring us problems, so fuck her once, and we'll abandon her here."

I hit him so hard that I thought I had killed him. He drove me insane all the time, but he went so far this time.

"Sookie's right, you're an asshole. I've always thought so, but there's enough. You hear me? You have no right to talk about her that way! And I assure you that I'll kill you with my bare hands if you do it again!" I kicked him in the side to make myself clear, and for a moment I wished to leave him lying there, and wait for the zombies to get him and end with him once and for all. "Get up!" I pulled the collar of his shirt, and dragged him to the Jeep where Sookie was waiting. "Be thankful she did not hear what you said, because she'd kill you without hesitation, do you understand?" Compton nodded once, and climbed into the back seat. Not a single word left his mouth.

"I thought you'd let him die, but I guess we're not all bastards like him." Sookie snapped as I closed the car door.

"We'll give a rodeo, and we'll try luck somewhere else, okay?" I grabbed her hand, kissing her red knuckles. "Everything is gonna be okay, Sookie. I promise you." One of the zombies hit the window on my side, scaring the shit out of the three of us. It was a woman about thirty years, with her clothes torn, covered in dirt and blood, and her face disfigured. On one side I could see her jaw completely, and it freaked me out.

"Eric, let's get out of here, please." Sookie's words made me react. I started the car and we left at full speed. I needed to think, and I always felt better driving. It helped me to relax, and at the time I really, really needed it.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, caressing my cheek. "You haven't said anything for a while."

"I'm fine, don't worry."

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**Sookie POV**

My hand hurt like hell after hitting Compton, but it was worth it, and I'd do it again and again.

Who did he think he was to tell me that?

I don't know what happened when I went back to the car, but Eric beat him, and then dragged him to the Jeep. I thought I'd feel guilty, but it was the opposite. It made me feel good to know Eric cared about me.

However, I saw them talking before Eric began hitting him, and I was curious to know what Compton said to explain his reaction.

The tension was so obvious that if I'd had a scissors I could have cut it. Nobody said a word, and I wasn't sure it was a good idea to start a conversation. I couldn't stand Compton, it was no secret, but I didn't want Eric to kick him out of the car either.

Yet I opened my mouth.

"You're bleeding…" I whispered, gently touching his knuckles. "I should heal you that wound." I pulled the kit out of my bag, and I told him to stop the car.

"This is not necessary, it's just a minor injury." But I wouldn't accept a negative.

"The blood attracts them, Eric." I said no more. "Besides, it might get infected, and I just have the basics in this kit. Now extend your hand, and let me finish my work so we can leave." I did it quickly. I didn't want to stay on that road for longer than necessary, and we hadn't gotten far enough from the town. The zombies might reach us.

"A bandage and I'll be done." Luckily my Gran taught me to treat all kinds of superficial wounds when I was a little kid, and that knowledge stuck with me. Thank God.

"It didn't even hurt me. Are you sure you weren't a nurse?" I struggled to contain it, but laughter betrayed me. "Because I would have looked for any excuse to go to a hospital so you could fix me."

"Does he always have to be so sweet and adorable? I just wanted to throw myself into his arms and never get away. But unfortunately we were not alone, and it wouldn't have been appropriate. Besides, I did not like the way Bill Compton looked at us, and I had the feeling that he was hiding a dark secret. I had seen more than I wanted of that man, and the rest wouldn't be better.

"I'm done." I put everything into my bag again, and Eric started the car. None of us knew where we were going, but any place would be better than the one we had just left.

"You know, I broke my arm when I was eight years old, and no nurse treated me as you have done." I wasn't convinced if it was a compliment or a criticism, but I accepted it anyway. "The doctor kept talking to the nurse all the time, and none of them cared whether it hurt or not."

"The patient is always the most important." I replied cheerfully, and a second later I heard a snort from behind.

"What the fuck is that?" I thought Compton was just trying to change the subject, but when Eric stopped the car I knew something was wrong. "We're screwed, I knew we'd screwed…" Bill repeated again and again.

"Silence!"

"Eric, is that…?"

"A barricade." He interrupted me.

"How are we going to keep driving? We can't get through." Huge tanks prevented us to get in, spikes on the road to avoid vehicles from entering without permission, and sharpened stakes pointing in our direction. Probably to immobilize zombies, or hopefully kill them. "We should turn around and look for another way." I looked at Eric, but he was shaking his head.

"We can't be sure the other way is better than this. Besides, we must save fuel or we'll be screwed." He opened the door got out. The panic came over me to see that some staked zombies were still moving. They were trapped there like animals.

"Eric! Where are you going?" Bill, like a good coward, remained in the car, but I wouldn't stay seated and waiting. "What are you doing?"

"Go back to the Jeep." He said no more, but I refused flatly. "Sookie, it's dangerous out here."

"Then we go back, but both of us." I grabbed his hand, but none moved. "You can't fix this alone, Eric. We won't have enough time, even if the three of us work together, and you know Bill won't lift a finger to help us." A quick glance at the car gave him the answer he was looking for. Compton glared at us, and although helping us would have meant saving his own skin, he neither would. "Go back and find another way is our best option."

One of the zombies, somehow, managed to escape from the trap.

"Stay behind me." He said, and though I closed my eyes, the sound of the knife through the brain was no less disgusting. "Sookie, if the zombies were stuck here means that they failed to enter the town. It might be our chance to stop living in the road."

Although the offer was tempting, we had no idea what we'd find at the other side of the barricade. If Eric was right, and they hadn't invaded the town, we'd feel more than lucky. But if instead it was a trap…we wouldn't have enough time to go back.

"What about a rodeo?" I suggested, though of course I had no idea what I was talking about, or if it was a possibility.

"It'd take us too long, but I believe I might be able to remove an enough large part for the Jeep to get in." I did not like the plan. I did not like the least. "Sookie, listen to me. If I'm gonna do this, I will need your help. Yours, and Compton's." We both looked at the car, and saw Bill staring at us.

"We'll have to get rid of them first." I said, pointing to the zombies who were still trapped in the stakes. "Guess it'll be easier if they can't move."

With the huge knife Eric gave me between my hands, I took care of each and every one of them. Meanwhile he and Bill removed the spikes on the road, and were pushing the vehicles at one side and the other. Moving the tanks would be virtually impossible, but they were only placed at the ends, luckily for us, so with a large enough hole we could get through.

I insisted on helping them with the cars, but Eric told me to watch that no zombie got closer. If they did I would shoot them with the rifle, and although I wasn't convinced that I was gonna manage at first try, I'd do my best. It was my mission, and I was willing to comply.

The sun would set soon, and although both of them worked nonstop, it didn't seem fast enough. We couldn't stay in the open after dark, so we had to hurry up.

"AHHHHHH!" I turned around frightened. Maybe the zombies were closer than we believed.

"Compton!" Eric was crouched beside him, and as I approached, I saw that he had a huge cut on his leg.

"My God, what happened?" I took out the kit and crouched on the other side. "He's losing a lot of blood. We have to stop the bleeding."

"I'll take him to the car." Eric picked him up and I followed them. The hole in the barricade would allow us to get through, but we wouldn't have time to close it so no one could follow us. "Sookie, you can help him better than me. Sit next to him and do what you can, okay? I'll drive and try to find a place where we can stay for a while."

"And if there is none?" I hated being pessimistic, but it was a possibility.

"Hope not." He laid Bill down on the back seat, and I sat beside him, checking his wound. Blood was everywhere, and although I pressed, it was impossible to stop the bleeding.

"I need something to plug the wound." Eric took off his shirt and handed it to me. It wasn't much, but I prayed to be enough. "He needs a lot more than I have with me or he'll lose consciousness, and he'll end up dying."

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**Eric POV**

Everything seemed fine, but it was just an illusion. When I stopped the Jeep and saw the barricade, I knew we were screwed, but I didn't need to panic.

Moving the cars took us longer than I thought, and when Compton injured himself I knew we wouldn't be able to put everything back before leaving. He was losing a lot of blood, and no matter he's a jerk, he did not deserve to die.

"How is he?" I asked, looking back. Sookie was stained with his blood, her hands were completely covered, and she was scared. Terrified actually.

"He's fainted. Eric…"

I drove at full speed, without really knowing where to go, and for the first time in my life I was glad to see a cross. "Sookie, a hospital! It is a hospital!" I stopped the car, and looked at her through the back window. "What do you need?"

"Everything. Bandages, antibiotics, and anything you can find. He will also need something to help him to walk. Please, Eric, find anything you can, alright? But be careful. Be very careful.

I emptied my bag on the passenger seat, and grabbed the guns. The interior was dark and messed up. There were hundreds of things lying on the floor, but I had no time to lose. I saw a fence and knew I had come to the pharmacy. At least some good news. I busted the lock, and took everything I could with me. No matter what it was, we would probably need it sooner or later.

I walked down the hall until I found an emergency room. There was blood everywhere but no bodies. Perhaps an operation that went wrong, but where was everybody? If this town was safe – at least until we opened the barricade – why hadn't I met anyone?

I found surgical instruments, penicillin, and a transport stretcher, probably from an ambulance. We might move Compton easily with this, but it was not enough. I also grabbed respirators, a defibrillator, and anything else that would be useful.

I wanted to walk the rest of the hospital, but Compton wouldn't have a lot of time, and didn't want to leave Sookie alone in the car.

"Oh God! You scared the shit out of me!" Sookie jumped and clutched her chest. "Did you find anything?"

"A lot. Including this." I showed the stretcher and her eyes lit up. "Now we just have to find a place to hide for a few days."

The sun had already set when we found a small house with the windows covered by wooden planks, and a sturdy door. It seemed safe, so after getting Sookie and Bill inside, I moved the car to the back yard, ready to get out in a matter of minutes.

"How is he?"

"I managed to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't easy." She brushed her hair off from her face with the back of her hand. "I have to disinfect and heal the wound, but he will survive. Wasn't a deep cut, but I'll keep an eye on him. I gave him a few painkillers, so he'll sleep through the night." She leaned back against the couch where Compton was lying, and closed her eyes. I thought she was resting until I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey, what's up?" I whispered, kneeling in front of her. "Sookie, look at me." She shook her head, but I picked her up and sat down on the couch with her on my lap. "Baby, please, talk to me."

"This…this was too much…" she muttered between sobs. "I feel like…feel like I'm falling down and I don't know if I'll be able to stand it." I held her against my chest even though she was covered in blood. I did not care, we had more clean clothes. "I believed I wouldn't save him, and the blood…the blood was everywhere and…"

"You saved him, Sookie. That's all that matters." She kissed me like there's no tomorrow, surrounding my neck with her arms. "Sookie…"

"Don't talk," she cut me off, kissing me again. "I want you, Eric. You've no idea how much…" But I did. I wanted her with the same force, but rather than continue sitting there, she trapped my waist with her legs, and I walked us down the hallway of the house. I didn't know where I was going, but I opened the first door I saw finding a bathroom.

"Oh God…" I finally saw a smile on her lips. "Do you think there'll be hot water?" The image of Sookie in the shower, wet, and droplets of water running down her whole body… "Eric! It's hot!" How long had I been imagining Sookie naked in the shower?

"Come on! What are you waiting for?" She poked her head on the side of the curtain, dazzling me with her smile. "Aren't you going to come in?"

"Do you want me to?" We had kissed, yes, but…

"Eric, I'm naked and wet." I raised an eyebrow, but only got a shrug in response. "Of course I wanna you to come in. Who will rub my back if you don't?"

* * *

**Well, that was all. **

**Hope you liked this one.**

**Love to read your reviews, so hit the big button.**

**:K**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, sorry for the delay, but I had a terrible week.**

**Here's a new chapter of this crazy fic, so I hope you really enjoy it.**

**Thanks a lot for reading.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

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**Sookie POV**

"OH YES! Yes! Don't stop…don't stop…" The hot water ran out a few minutes before, but Eric and I were so wrapped up in ourselves that we hardly noticed. His hands. His hands running through my body, and his thrusts making me experience the greatest pleasure I had ever known.

Eric is big – in every way – and although it was painful at first, I quickly got used to his size. He knew very well what he was doing, and he was demonstrating me with every movement.

"Sookie…oh God…" I reached the orgasm just at the same time his words rang in my ears. I stood paralyzed with my mouth open, but I kissed him passionately to show him that I felt the same way. "I worry a lot for you, baby."

"I also worry for you, Eric."

Anyone would think it's insane to feel that kind of worry and attachment to someone you know for less than a week – even I have thought about it before meeting him – but I couldn't deny it. It had to be something else too, because I felt it so badly that I could barely breathe.

"They seem happy." People who lived in this house were young, newly married, judging by the pictures I found. "What do you think it happened to them?" After showering and a change of clothes, I filled the tub with hot water to wash the blood stains. I found detergent and prayed it worked. Maybe the world had gone to hell, but I wouldn't go around with blood stains on my clothes.

"I dunno. I don't understand why we haven't found anyone alive, or at least the bodies." He frowned, as if worried. Personally, I care more about our own welfare. "Sookie, something strange has happened here. Pretty strange."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't it weird that we haven't seen signs of a struggle? Nothing. It's as if everything had vanished no more." He buried both hands in his hair, and I placed myself in front of him. "I know you're thinking it's stupid to worry about that, but I have a bad feeling."

"Eric, this place seems safe. We could stay here forever." I was trying him to understand, but the last thing I wanted was to push him. It had been only one night, and we weren't sure we could stay here. "Bill won't be able to move for a while, and we also need to rest, Eric. We should at least consider it as a possibility. This is better than to go from one place to another without being sure of what we might find."

We sat down on the edge of the bed, silent. Eric seemed lost in his own thoughts again, so I got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" I wasn't even reached the door when I heard his voice. "I know it seems complicated right now, but I just need to think about it for a bit. I don't want you to go."

I grinned at him, getting back to bed, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I was just to check on Bill, if he was still sleeping." I stroked his cheek, so soft after shaving, that I couldn't stop caressing him. "I have given him enough painkillers to drug an elephant, so he'll sleep like a baby."

"You think he will walk soon?"

I shrugged, not knowing what else to do. "I'm no doctor, Eric. I can't know until he tries to walk by himself. But I believe, or at least I hope, he will recover. He'll need time, but I'm sure he'll be the old Bill Compton."

"Can't you get him to be friendlier?" He asked laughing. "Or something less annoying?"

"I'll do what I can." I replied, chuckling. "But no promises."

As expected, Bill was K.O. He'd be for the rest of the night, and possibly late in the day. Luckily Eric found painkillers, it would have been much worse otherwise. The pain would have made him to lose consciousness sooner or later, but not even he deserved to suffer in that way if we could do something about it.

"It looks better." I was checking his leg wound, when Eric murmured from the living room door.

"Yeah, looks like there's no infection." I covered again, and stayed at his side at the window. To watch seemed something innate in Eric. "You can't hear a single noise. All is calm."

"Too calm. Something's not right, and I'm gonna find out what it is." Why did he have to be so stubborn?

I breathed deeply before saying something that I might regret. "Do you realize what you're saying?" He looked at me with eyes wide open, but I didn't care if it was something he did not want to hear. Eric had to understand what was at stake. "For the first time in ages, we're safe. You and Bill have been moving in the Jeep from one place to another, but I was six bloody months locked up, Eric. Locked up in a fucking store!" If my Gran had heard me cursing like that, she would wash my mouth with soap.

"Sookie…"

"I believe you do not understand, but I'll explain in a simple way." I snapped. I hated behaving so abruptly, especially with Eric after he had saved me. "Out there," I said, pointing to the window. "We are in permanent danger. No matter the city, town, or village we go, because we will always be a target. We are their food, and they won't give up because they don't know what they're doing. The instinct guides them and that's all. There's no more, Eric." I know he was going to interrupt, but now that I had begun speaking, I had to finish. "And we suddenly had found a house to stay without fearing being caught and eaten by those monsters. A place where there's nobody else. A place that might have huge expectations for us. But you wanna leave." I placed both hands on his chest, moving them slowly up and down. "We could be happy here," I whispered, with tears in my eyes.

"I just want to protect you…" He said no more, and we melted into a passionate kiss.

* * *

**Eric POV**

I took her in my arms and went back to the bedroom. I needed to possess her, kiss her, hug her, make love to her, and feel safe inside of her.

I did not want to leave her. I couldn't allow our bodies to stop touching each other. I did not wish to give up the warmth and softness of her bare skin against mine. I almost had her at my mercy, just wearing her underwear.

"You are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen," I murmured against her lips. "We may be in hell, but I've found the only angel." Sookie hugged me tighter, kissing me as if for the last time, and getting rid of my shirt in the way. "I can't stop thinking on you, touch you, kiss you…" I accompanied each word with a quick kiss, revealing in the taste of her moist and soft lips.

"I'm going to make love to you, my little angel." I laid her down on bed, enjoying her fragile and beautiful body, waiting for me.

"Come here, Eric." A shy smile and a look full of lust. That was enough for me to be at her service.

I kissed every inch of her tanned skin, making her moan softly. I adored hearing her moans. They are just for me.

"What do you wish, my angel?" I whispered in her ear, then kissing her neck. "Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you. Just ask me."

My body covered her completely, and I kissed her again, slowly. "You're all I want, Sookie."

"I want you too…inside me, Eric." I entered her slowly, staring at her, and enjoying the touch of our bodies, moving in unison. The pace was calm, there was no hurry. I wanted to enjoy every second, and by Sookie's face, she felt the same.

"Oh God, Eric. Don't stop!" I didn't increase the speed at any moment. It was about the intimacy between us just being ours. "Do not stop…do not stop…do not stop!" She repeated over and over, like a mantra.

"Oh God…" She yelled again, before we both reached the orgasm at the same time.

"You're unbelievable, Sookie." I let myself drop over her, being careful not to crush her, while I was still inside her.

Words were not necessary, just caresses and small gestures.

"For a moment I've felt that the world hadn't changed at all. It's been only for a second, but it was like a flashback, and both of us were there. Together." She said, stroking my face. "As a normal couple who do not have to look over their shoulders every few seconds. You know, what before used to be an ordinary life. Although mine was very boring, always working until late at night, listening bullshit from drunkards, and they pinching my ass." I frowned, and I think I even growled, but Sookie smiled at me.

"I had loved to have a man as handsome and gentlemanly as you to wait for me when I finished my shift." I would swear she even blushed. "I dated a couple of guys who used to go by the bar, but didn't work."

"Why?" I laid down on bed, holding her close to me. It was strange to be lying down in a strange bed, but it was better than nothing. Sookie was right, at least we were safe and not fleeing again.

She shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know, guess it was not what I was looking for. They were good men, but I felt no butterflies in the stomach. I feel all that with you, Eric, and I love it." A wide smile, just what I expected to see. "It's silly…"

"I also feel those butterflies in the stomach."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I opened my eyes and Sookie wasn't beside me. I looked around and did not recognize anything at all. I expected to see the inside of the tent, Compton on the other end, and Sookie wrapped around me.

But I was alone.

"Sookie?"

I dressed quickly and left the bedroom. Everything looked different with the sunlight coming through the windows. It looked like a real house, except for the fact that we didn't live here. It was strange to think that there was no one in this town, just us.

"Hey, you're awake." I found Sookie in the living room, sitting next to Compton on the couch. He was still sleeping. "You were exhausted, so I let you sleep. I also wanted to make sure Bill was right."

"He seems to be." I said no more, and Sookie rolled her eyes.

"He may be an asshole, and egocentric. And he creeps me out," she continued, sighing. "What I'm trying to say is that we couldn't let him suffer or even die. We wouldn't be better than the zombies, don't you think?"

"I think I should never take him with me in the first place." I wish I had never met him. "He has caused me nothing but trouble."

"And would have you been able to let abandon him at his fate?" She asked seriously. "You are not like that, Eric. It's not in your nature, and you'd have felt guilty about it." I knew she was right, but Bill Compton had gone too far in more than one occasion. "I'm afraid we can't choose our companions in this adventure." She covered his wound with a bandage again and rose from the couch.

"Do you want to have breakfast?" I followed her to a classically decorated kitchen, but equipped with modern appliances. "When I got up early I had the chance to inspect the house a little. There's a lot of everything. I found a pantry full of food in perfect state, and grabbed a few things." The table was set, tablecloth included, and I stood there, amazed.

"What is it? Something wrong?" She stared at me, as if trying to decipher what was going on through my mind.

"Sookie, this is amazing…" Whispers left my mouth, but I saw her crack a huge smile. "Is that orange juice?"

"Orange juice, bacon, pancakes with chocolate syrup and waffles. I wanted to make coffee, but I didn't get so lucky…"

I held her against me, kissing her forehead. "I can't still believe we've been so lucky. You were right, maybe staying here is a good idea after all." Sookie put her arms around my neck, and we melted into a sweet kiss.

"Come on, breakfast's getting cold."

After eating more than we had eaten during the last week, I went to the back of the house to make sure everything was in order. The Jeep was still in the same place, the supplies in the trunk, and the guns hidden where I left them when we arrived.

It was so weird to lead an "almost normal life" after so long, it would take me a little time to get used to.

"Eric." I quickly turned around when I heard her voice.

"What is it?"

"Bill's awake."

We both breathed deeply, and walked back into the house. I made sure to lock the door, and put down the curtains so nobody could see us.

"Bill, how are you feeling?" Sookie sat beside him on the couch – like she had done several times since he was injured – and went to check out the bandage, but Compton stopped her, grabbing her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Do not touch me!" He snapped, and I quickly got Sookie away from the couch.

"I was just trying to help you," Sookie whispered, getting as close to me as she could. I had her trapped between my chest and my arms around her waist. I did not want her to be near him. "You were wounded in the leg when you and Eric were removing the barricade, remember?"

Bill glared at us both as if we were the ones to blame for what had happened to him, but it wasn't like that. Fortunately for him.

"You'd be dead if not for her!" I yelled. I was tired of his attitude, and if he kept behaving like this, he wouldn't last much longer with us. "You're an asshole, Compton, but Sookie saved you 'cause not everyone is like you. I don't believe for a second that you'd done the same for any of us." I let Sookie go, and she disappeared down the hall.

"This is her fault!" Bill Compton was proving to be even more stupid than I thought. "She has brought us nothing but trouble from the beginning. If not for her we wouldn't be in this situation, and I wouldn't have a fucking wound in the leg!"

"You're alive thanks to her, you idiot!" I snapped, more furious than before. "I'd have left you to die, be sure of that. But she's not like us. Sookie is too good to do something so awful. She's the only one of us that is worth saving if there is an opportunity."

"That you're fucking her doesn't mean she's as good as you think! Although I'm sure she's a beast in the sack…she looks like it." My mother taught me that violence does not solve the problem. But my father taught me to defend myself if I had to. And this time, I had to.

I punched him in the face, causing his nose to bleed, and I didn't stop there. I kept hitting him as if my life depended on it. I wasn't able to control my own body. I was letting my instinct to guide me, and my instinct was telling me over and over again that Bill Compton did not deserve to keep living in this world.

"Eric, stop! You'll kill him!" Sookie tried to pull me away from him, but I wouldn't let her. Compton had gone too far for the last time. "Eric, please! Don't kill him, don't kill him…" I would have done it had it not been for Sookie's sobs. That was the only thing that restored my sanity, and I realized what I was doing. I didn't feel guilty, not at all, but looking at her I knew I was just getting her to suffer.

"Sookie…" I stroked her cheek, but she turned her head. "Sookie, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

Compton was unconscious on the couch. His nose was bleeding, and his wound opened again.

"He's bleeding. I'll have to fix him again." I didn't want her to – he did not deserve her care – but at the time I did not utter a word about it. I was furious with Compton, yes, but also with myself. Maybe the guy was the biggest asshole on Earth, but Sookie was right when she said that we can't choose who joins us in a situation like the one we were living. "Where are you going? Eric! Eric, where are you going?"

I left without a word and not looking back. I couldn't stay there any longer, not while I was seeing the disappointment on Sookie's face.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I had to take care of Compton again, even if he was a stupid and ungrateful man. I hated him with all my strength, but I couldn't leave him in that state for a second.

Eric had beaten him up. His nose looked broken, didn't stop bleeding, and he had several facial injuries. It would take me a lot of time to heal him, but would he thank me? No, of course not.

No matter how much it bothered me what he had said about me since I met him, I couldn't leave him like that.

"Mmmm…" Great, he was waking up. I might have given him a few painkillers, but I was taking no risks.

"If you aren't gonna say something worth listening to, then shut up." I said, when I saw him opening his mouth. "I don't know what you said to Eric, but I'm sure he had his reasons to beat you up."

"Don't you want to hear my side?" The sarcasm was evident.

"Not really."

"Well, I'll tell you anyway." He sighed dramatically, but I wouldn't allow his attitude to affect me. "You're hot, honey, but I'm afraid you chose the wrong man." I focused on the wound on his leg, ignoring his words. "Northman is a fucking coward, but I make sure he does the right thing."

I was unable to contain myself any longer, and chuckled. "It is impossible for you to believe your own lies, Bill. Eric is a good man, much better than you'll ever be, and you'd be dead if weren't for him. He took care of you and protected you all this time, and you pay him with your despicable behavior." I finished putting on the bandage, and picked everything else up. "I'll tell you one thing about Eric Northman. He's the sweetest, most generous man I've ever met. He rescued me and took me with him when he did not have to, but he did. That's more than I can say of you."

Compton moved faster than I expected, and grabbed both of my arms. "Bill, let me go right now."

"Your savior is not here to protect you." Maybe, but I knew how to defend myself pretty well.

"Get your hands off me or you'll regret it. I promise you." Bill laughed, but I kicked him in his center of gravity, making him to fall back to the couch, whimpering. "I told you that you'd regret." I picked up the kit and put it in the backpack. "If you touch me again, I assure you that it'll be the last time. I managed to stop Eric before he killed you, but I won't lift a finger next time. Understood?"

"Damn bitch…" he muttered, shrugging into a ball as a child would do.

I left him lying there, and went to the room Eric and I had shared. I sat down on the bed, quietly, and a second later I began mourning. The weight of what happened before fell on me like a huge wall. I thought having a place to stay would improve things, but it seemed otherwise.

The tears wouldn't solve anything, so I went looking for Eric. I thought he'd be in the kitchen or bathroom, but I did not find him.

"Eric, where the hell are you?" I mumbled to myself.

I panicked when I didn't see the Jeep in the back, but I refused to believe Eric had abandoned me. No, it was impossible. He'd come back sooner or later.

I returned to the bedroom, made the bed, and laid down on it. I did not know what else to do, and I didn't want to be alone with Compton. He already creeped me out when I met him, but now he had crossed a line. I wouldn't stand his bullshit and outbursts for much longer.

"You look worried…" Eric's voice startled me, but I calmed down as soon as I saw his face.

"Where have you been?" I got up so fast I got dizzy, but luckily I recovered quickly. I checked Eric was not injured, bitten, or anything else. No risks. "Why did you leave no more?! I got out looking for you and you weren't anywhere, Eric. Why the hell did you go?" I was very happy to see him – happier that he wasn't injured – but I was worried the whole time he was gone. "It's been hours, is nearing dark, and…"

"It's already dark, Sookie." He said no more.

"Better for me. We both know it's dangerous to walk around at night, especially when we are in an unknown place. What were you thinking?!" I broke mourning like a child, and felt stupid for behaving that way.

"Sookie, I'm fine."

"Yes, I can see that, but it's not about that, you know?" I was still crying like a fool, but was unable to stop.

"Sookie…"

"Why do you keep repeating my name?" And then I knew. There was more in his eyes. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I've seen…"

"What? What did you see?" He was staring at nothing; as if just saw something awful. Something too bad to talk about it. "Eric, look at me. Everything's okay, right? You are here with me, you're safe." I hugged him with all my strength, and stayed like that for a few minutes. I relaxed, but every time I tried to get away from him, he held me tighter.

"Eric," I whispered, "talk to me, please."

We pulled away enough to look at each other's eyes, but he didn't release my hands at all.

"I've found the people of this town."

* * *

**That's all, hope you liked it.**

**Please hit the button and leave me a review. I would love to read them.**

**Have a nice weekend.**

**:K**


	5. Chapter 5

**First of all, I'm sooooo sorry for not update soon, but I just couldn't. I had a lot of things to take care of. You know, real world is a bitch sometimes.**

**Here I am with another chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

**:D**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**Eric POV**

I thought after all this time confronting dead people walking, feeding on other people, and moving in herds, had seen everything. But no, this was beyond it completely.

"They're all dead." I had seen corpses before, but nothing compared of what I found. "Sookie, I saw the bodies, and they were all dead."

"Then we should go from here. We can't stay if there are zombies. It's too dangerous."

"Sookie, there are no zombies." She frowned, and I took her hand and led her to bed. "At least I haven't seen them. They're all dead, but not transformed."

"Eric, what are you talking about?" The panic in her voice was like a stab, but she needed to know.

"They were executed." Her eyes opened wide, and she began hyperventilating. "Sookie, breathe! Baby, breathe with me. Easy, easy…" I forced her to bend down her head, and she seemed to feel better. "Are you okay?"

"That's because this house seems to be in perfect conditions… No dead bodies or undead in the streets, everything is in order." Sookie was having a panic attack, and the worst part is that I didn't know what to do to help her. "Who would do something like that, Eric?" Tears filled her eyes, so I did the only thing I could think. I took her in my arms, sitting her on my lap. If I couldn't comfort her with words, at least I'd do everything in my power to make her feel protected and safe.

"Whoever did this could still be here, Sookie. So I believe we should leave." The expression of terror in her face broke my heart.

"Do you think they would harm us?" I just nodded. "I wanna see them."

"What!" I was appalled by the idea. It was horrible that I had to witness all that, but she did not have to see it. "Sookie, no." I added firmly. "I flatly refuse. You don't know what you're talking about. What I saw will cause nightmares for the rest of my life, and I don't need you go through the same. I won't take you there."

"Are you banning me?" She asked, challenging me.

"I'm not banning you anything, Sookie. But I won't agree to take you to visit it either. It is a cemetery." Sookie got up from my lap, standing in front of me, arms crossed. "Sookie, please. I'm asking you to listen to me on this. You don't want to see them, I assure you. I wish I would never have seen them. I wish I had turned around in time, but I did not. I just want to avoid you to suffer."

"I get it." She whispered, but didn't move.

"We'll stay the night, and we'll pick everything up tomorrow morning. The sooner we get out of this town, the better."

I went to the living room to inform Compton, but when I walked in, I saw the door open, and there was no sign of him.

"Sookie!" She came running, scared. "Bill's gone."

"What?" She looked around, but she wouldn't find him. "He's hurt, he won't go too far."

"He has my gun…"

Sookie's eyes widened so much that I thought they would come out of their sockets, and before I could ask her, she ran to the back of the house. "Thank God…" she muttered. "The Jeep is still here."

"He couldn't have taken it. I always have the keys with me," I said, waving them in front of her eyes. "But if he has left on foot, he's more stupid than we thought."

"Should we go to find him?" Compton had caused us enough trouble. "I know he's an idiot, and if I hadn't stopped him when I did…"

"What, Sookie?" I approached her slowly, controlling the urge to leave the house to find Bill. "What would he have done?"

"Never mind…"

"Sookie. Tell me." She lowered her head, but I wouldn't give up. I was going to find out what happened no matter what.

"He…" She began, but stopped. "When… Do we really have to talk about it?"

"Yes."

She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "As you wish." She took a breath, and began speaking. "When you left, I got back to the living room to check if he was okay. He had lost consciousness, and I believed he would be out for hours. But he woke up."

"What happened then?" I didn't want to freak Sookie out, but I was starting to lose control. "Sookie, I need to know you're okay." I insisted.

"He said very cruel things, and when I replied that he had no idea what he was talking about, he got up and grabbed me by the arms."

"Show me."

She rolled her sleeves up, and I could see the marks Compton's hands had left on her skin.

"I'm gonna kill him…"

"Eric, no. He's gone. We should do the same, and forget what happened. We'll do what you said, collect everything and leave. You're right, it's the best, and that's it." She kept stroking my face, causing me to look at her. "We'll start a new life, Eric. You and me alone."

The plan was the best I had heard in a long time, but I wouldn't forget Bill Compton's issue. If I see him again, I wouldn't doubt. I'd throw him to the zombies, I'd put a bullet between his eyes, or I'd kick him until he was dead. Either option was valid, but I wanted him to suffer.

"What do you say?" She asked hopefully.

"It's a great idea, Sookie Stackhouse. And we're going to start a new life. Together."

* * *

**Sookie POV**

For a moment I thought Eric would run to follow Compton wherever he had gone. I did not want to tell him what happened when he left, because the last thing he needed was to feel guilty. It wasn't his fault at all, and I wouldn't let him to take the responsibility.

All was peace and quiet while we were in bed. I kept stroking his chest, drawing circles and feeling safe.

"Will we have a garden?" It was our fantasy, and I could imagine anything I wanted. "With a white picket fence, and an orchard?"

"Whatever you want, baby."

We were lucky to find this house, or so we thought, but we couldn't stay there any longer. It might not have undead out there, but there was something worse. The murderers who had killed all these poor people were still there somewhere, and Bill could be with them. I didn't want to think much about it, but couldn't help it. It was rare possibility, but still could be true, and we'd be in big trouble then.

Bill Compton was a despicable and treacherous rat. He proved it on numerous occasions, and we never let him behind. We even took care of him when we had the chance to get rid of him while he was unconscious. But did we? No, of course not. We were not like him. We took care of each other, and that was something Bill would never understand.

"Where have you gone?" Just brushing the hair off my face with a caress, made me feel special. "Hope what you're thinking is not more interesting than me, 'cause I am lost then." I chuckled, because even in the worst moments, he could always make me smile.

"I was thinking how anxious I am to get out of here." I said no more. Eric looked at me surprised. "I don't think I could stay in this place after what I know, what about you? All the people who lived here were brutally murdered, and although there are no zombies, it's creepy."

"It's a cemetery. A resting place for all the unfortunates who lived here. I don't feel comfortable touching their things and…"

"I feel the same, Sookie." He kissed my forehead, and held me against his body. I'd miss these moments of quiet, sleeping in a bed, and feeling safe. Actually it was just an illusion, and the fantasy was coming to its end.

"I'll take care of you, Sookie. I promise. I won't let anything bad happen to you." And I believed him. "I care too much for you to let that happen."

"I know, Eric. I know that."

I woke to the smell of bacon that seemed to flood everything, so I took a quick shower, opened the medicine cabinet and took everything with me. We returned to the road, and we'd need all we could take with us.

"Morning," I greeted him as I walked into the kitchen, and I was shocked to see the feast Eric had prepared for breakfast.

"Hey." A sweet kiss on the lips, and a delicious breakfast on the table. What else could I ask?

"What's all this?" His eyes lit up when he saw the grin on my face.

"Got up early to pick everything up," and I saw our bags by the door. "And I thought we could start the trip with energy. So sit down and enjoy." I looked at him, and Eric chuckled. "I believe I've become a bad influence for you, Miss Stackhouse."

"Of course you are."

I enjoyed every bite, delaying the inevitable time to leave, and exchanging smiles and knowing glances with Eric.

"I found a map and there are several nearby towns, and a national park. We could try them, what do ya think?" Eric's idea was good, but I was hoping not to find a ghost town with some unpleasant surprises again. "There are many places we can go, don't worry."

"I'm fine, Eric." I was trying to be positive, but it wasn't easy. "I can't stop thinking about what happened to the people who lived here. What if the same thing has happened elsewhere? What if we find the heartless monsters that did this?" I didn't want to cry and look weak, but tears were stronger than me.

"Sookie, don't cry." He knelt before me, and he pulled my hands away from my face. "Baby, I'll always take care of you, do you understand? I'm not taking stupid risks that endanger our lives. That's for sure."

I was relieved to hear Eric's honest words, and prayed to be safe.

"Why are you washing dishes?" I had checked the lounge and bedroom to be sure we didn't forget anything. I even picked up some things from the bathroom, but left everything else.

"I thought it was the right thing to do." He said, shrugging, and ending scrubbing. "I believed it'd be better to leave everything as we found it." So I made the bed, and didn't touch anything in the closet.

"I think you're right."

Half an hour later we were back on the road, to an uncertain and unknown destiny. I shouldn't be nervous because it wasn't something new to me, but I was. I couldn't help thinking of the days we spent together at the house, no worries, and feeling safe.

"You're not the only one who's nervous, but everything will be okay. I feel it." It was like he was reading my mind.

"So you know to pretend better than me then." He smiled, and I felt better talking about it. "I was never good at lying, not even when I was a kid. My parents always knew I was lying, but said nothing. I think deep down they just waited for me to confess the truth, 'cause sooner or later I did." At least I could feel comforted at the thought that no one in my family had to suffer the consequences of that deadly virus. "Do you remember anything of what they said about the infection?"

"A little. I saw something on the news, and decided it'd be better to get going before the panic started. I knew it was only a matter of time." That was exactly what happened, and most people had no idea what was happening until it was too late. "The rest I heard on the radio, but the news stopped coming after a few weeks."

"Everything turned off." It was a good way to define it. "I remember how nervous the people were. They ran from one side to another, stealing in stores, cars, and fighting among themselves for food. It was crazy."

"Chaos." Eric added. "Scientists bitten more than they could swallow, and we all ended up paying the consequences." The idea of a vaccine genetically treated with a virus would improve life's quality caught the attention of most humans. We didn't want to die from diseases such as cancer, AIDS, or any other condition that had no cure or treatment. We wanted to become indestructible, and it only served to make that hundreds of millions of lives came to an end. "All my friends said I was insane 'cause I refused the vaccine."

"I also refused."

"I told them it wasn't natural. People get sick and die. It's the cycle of life." I couldn't agree more with him. "In a TV program appeared a scientist, I forget his name, stating that a single injection could even extend life. I think people let themselves go by their excitement, and believed in something that it wasn't anything but a lie. It was just an illusion surrounded by shadows, and in the end the shadows won. I didn't understand why others didn't see it the same way I did, why they didn't see the real thing, but I guess they were scared. Beating death is a great incentive to try new things, but I bet none of them imagined that fucking vaccine would mean the end of everything."

"No one could know, Eric. It might have worked, but they played with something they didn't understand, and this is the result." The extinction of the human race, except for a few of us who had managed to survive. "I remember labs receiving millionaire donations by anonymous people. They wanted this cure to be created as soon as possible. I even heard a couple of security guards from of the labs talking about it. They used to go to the bar for a few drinks after work, and seemed impressed with the amount of people who came to learn about the research."

"Everything wanted to be immortal."

"Immortal," I mumbled, chuckling. "They became selfish and greedy, that was the problem. They wanted to live forever, but that's impossible. They risked, and they lost."

"For a long time I thought I was one of the losers." We were both alive, but I didn't feel like a winner. "I put the gun inside my mouth more times than I would like to admit." I felt sick to hear that. "But I could never pull the trigger. Every time I thought about it, and decided to end with all…"

"What?" I wanted to know how that story ended, although Eric was beside me in the Jeep, so the end was predictable.

"I heard my brother's voice telling me not to." That touched me.

"Eric, stop the car." He looked at me for a second, but didn't hesitate. He stopped the Jeep, and I hugged him tightly. We both had been through a horrific experience as it is to see disappear all around you, but he had also lost a loved one. I saw my friends die and resurrect later as monsters eager for human flesh, but a brother? "I'm so sorry. Losing someone so dear and close to you must have been horrible. I lost people I loved, although in different circumstances. Guess no matter the way they go, because the hole is always the same."

He hugged me tighter, and I heard him sob. We stay like that, caressing and comforting us the best we could, until Eric finally let me go, and wiped the tears with the back of his hand.

"I feel like a lottery winner now."

"And why is that?" It surprised me that he said it. If I had lost a brother, I wouldn't think the same way as him.

"I found you."

I couldn't help it. A huge grin from ear to ear formed on my face, and when Eric's hand grabbed mine, I felt much better. It seemed all problems vanished, and not even the undead o traitors like Bill Compton, could spoil the moment.

"I think I'll have to add a few lines to my diary." It was the first time I talked about everything I had written over the past few months, and he thought it was a good idea.

"Maybe in a few years we'll need to read it to remember what happened. It's possible the world gets back to what it was, and then it'll be a written testimonial. Something the survivors or the new generations will remember forever. And maybe they don't make the same mistakes we made."

* * *

**Bill POV**

If Northman or that whore believed they could treat me that way, they were very, very wrong. I was the only sane one of the group, the one who knows there is no future to save. But they refused to believe it. They kept kissing and throwing glances at each other like a couple of teens. I wanted to throw up just looking at it, and I planned to get out with the Jeep when they were sleeping. I would have managed had it not been for this damn cut on my leg.

I had the gun in my hand, ready to shoot against those bastard zombies, when I heard a motor noise behind me. If Northman had come looking for me, he could turn around right now.

Trucks.

I waved at them, but the first two did not stop. They continued as usual, as if I was invisible.

"Heyyyyyyy! Fucking bastards, stop!"

The motorcade finally stopped, and the passenger window of a black SUV opened.

"Thanks for stopping. I've been walking for three hours and…"

"Who the hell are you? Don't you know walking on a road in broad daylight attracts zombies?" They were all dressed in black, and well-armed. It was a well-organized group of at least fifty men. "What's your name?"

"Bill Compton."

"I'm Victor Madden, I lead this group." He said no more. Was it a special operations group sent by the army? The government perhaps? "We take care of those meat eaters bastards disappear one by one. Did you kill any of them?"

"Yeah. A lot."

"So you're one of us then." He laughed, and the drive did the same. "But you won't get far on foot. Get in the car."

"Thanks, this is great. Before I was travelling with two people who had no idea what they were doing. At first we were just me and other guy, but a girl joined us and spoiled everything. As always." I admitted, although I had to admit that if I had the chance to fuck Sookie, I would. "Because of her we were about to die, and I hurt my leg. It's not bad, but it hurt a lot."

"Our doctor will take you a look when we arrive." It was the last thing Madden said. The trip lasted about two hours, and it was getting dark when we arrived at what looked like a fort. These people were well organized, I had to admit it.

"What's this place?"

"It was an old mansion of the early twentieth century. It belonged to a powerful family, but the last heir decided it would be best to turn it into a museum, and it was sold. There was never enough money to make it a tourist attraction, so it remained closed and abandoned for years." The place was spectacular, and the security measures impressive. No zombie could enter without being detected by the sensors placed along the perimeter, or the guards who were stationed round the mansion. "Now we have made it a safe place from the undead."

"How many live here?"

"A couple hundred, including women and children." We got out of the car and followed everyone else. "We went out to search for supplies, weapons, anything we can find. We have created a new civilization, and of course you are welcome to it."

I liked this. For the first time I felt I was safe, and not stuck in a fucking Jeep with Northman and his bitch.

* * *

**Eric POV**

"According to the map, we're close to a small town. I think we could spend the night there, if it's safe. Or camping outside, where we can get out quickly."

"Why don't we keep driving? We could take turns." I knew it wasn't easy for Sookie to be back on the road after spending the last days in a house, but driving at night, with the lights on, would attract the zombies to us.

"We'll find a place, Sookie. Don't worry."

The sun was about to set when we entered the town. Everything seemed calm, and I prayed we were lucky.

"C'mon, we'll take a look." I grabbed all the guns I could carry, and an empty backpack. "Don't get away from me, okay?"

"Relax, I won't."

The moonlight was our only companion, and the pair of flashlights we brought with us. All was quiet and we didn't hear any noise. We walked slowly, looking around without losing detail. One false move and we'd be lost.

"See anything?" Sookie whispered, and I shook my head. "I saw blood, but no bodies." Yeah, a lot of blood, and some human remains, but no trace of the undead.

We walked into a few stores, we took what we could, and we were heading back to the car when I saw it.

"Shit…" I mumbled, and Sookie tensed behind me. "Baby, when I tell you, run to the car, okay?"

"No, Eric. I won't abandon you." I put her behind me, and pointing the flashlight I saw more than a dozen zombies walking in our direction. They were quiet and fast. Both neither Sookie nor I realize until it was too late.

"Don't argue with me, and do as I say. Run!" Sookie ran, and I shot against the first one. I had enough ammunition, but if I made noise it'd only be a matter of time before many more appeared.

I pointed at the head of the nearest, causing them to fall to the ground and the rest to stumble against them. It wouldn't give me much time, but at least a few seconds would make the difference.

"Die!" I kept firing, using the knife when I had the chance, and reloading the gun as fast as I could, but I was running out of time and out of bullets.

I didn't give up, I kept fighting, until I had no bullets left. I attacked with the knife, and even with a shovel that I found on the ground, but they were too many. I was surrounded and there was no exit.

At least Sookie would be safe…


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter.**

**Hope you like it.**

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* * *

**Chapter 6**

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I knew to stop at this town at night was not a good idea. I had a bad feeling, and I hated being right. Walking around at night wasn't safe, and I never thought we would stop to inspect the town. I believed we'd look for a place to spend the night and leave in the morning.

The zombies were everywhere. We didn't even hear them arriving, it was like they suddenly appeared. We were surrounded when Eric told me to run, and although I didn't want to leave him, I had to do what he said. I was scared, scared to death, and unable to use the gun. I was paralyzed, but I felt safe when I got in the car. I thought Eric would come running after me, but I didn't see him.

"Eric!" I yelled and pointed the flashlight in all directions, but I couldn't see him. The zombies flooded all, as a huge herd of hungry animals. "Eric! Where are you, Eric?" In my desperation I started the car, and used the headlights to illuminate everything. If Eric was there I could see him more easily, and to attract the zombies to me.

I couldn't see him anywhere, and I began thinking the worst. "Eric! If you can hear me, scream." For seconds, the longest and most terrifying of my life, I heard nothing. "No," I opened the window, set the gun, and fired at them. If I was alone, if Eric had…died, I wouldn't disappoint him. "Die, damn you all!"

"Sookie!" I saw a flashlight moving like a hundred yards away, and Eric's voice calling me. "Sookie, I'm here!" I fired a few more times, and made my way with the Jeep to where Eric was.

"Eric, get in the car!" I used the horn several times, making the zombies to follow me and staying away from Eric. "I'm coming!" I hadn't driven a Jeep in my life, but I hit several zombies, until I got to him. "Get in the car!" Eric ran, pushing the undead that stood in his way, until he finally came.

"Quick! Let's go!" I drove as fast as I could and in circles, until I saw what looked like the outside of the town. We had crossed it completely and I didn't even realize.

"Eric, are you okay?" I slowed down when I saw that we weren't being followed. The last thing I needed was to have an accident by going too fast. "Have you been bitten? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Sookie. Thanks to you."

I stopped the car and I barely had time before throwing up in the asphalt. My whole body was tense, and I couldn't stop shaking. I lost all control, and I'd have passed had it not been for Eric.

"Sookie, calm down, it's over." He sat down on the ground, and held me against his chest. I could feel his hands around my waist, stroking my belly, his lips whispering comforting words. "I'm proud of you, Sookie. You've done very well, and you saved my life."

I began mourning inconsolably, and not even Eric was able to make me feel better. I could not believe we had been about to die, and when I couldn't find him, I feared the worst. I don't think I could go on if I lost him, and I kept thinking that it almost happened.

"Here, you'll feel better." We were back in the car, but this time Eric was the one driving.

"What's this?"

"Whiskey. It'll help you to relax." I grabbed the bottle between my trembling hands, and took a long drink. I started coughing and felt it burning inside me. "Easy, drink slowly."

"Where did you get it?" I didn't remember having seen a bottle of whiskey among the supplies."

"In the café in the last town we were, where we were attacked by zombies, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Everything was fine until Compton decided to play "Dirty Harry" and attracted all the undead wandering around town. "We've been close to death so many times that remember all of them is becoming more and more difficult." I took another drink, and I felt a little better.

"I haven't thanked you for saving my life, Sookie." His presence alone was more than enough. "I couldn't have done it by myself, and right now I'd be one of them had it not been for you. You were very brave."

"I was scared to death," I muttered. "I thought I had lost you, and I froze. I don't know what made me to move, perhaps deep down I knew you weren't dead, that you were still out there, and that was the initiative that I was looking for. Then I saw your flashlight, and shouted with all my strength. I shot at them until I could make my way with the Jeep, and…and you know the rest…"

"It was an amazing act of heroism. And something I will never forget, Sookie."

We didn't go to any other town, nor camped outdoors. After the stressful night we had, none of us wished to remain outside the car longer than necessary.

"I wish these car seats were folding," he murmured, moving from side to side. "A bed would be much better."

"Yeah, it would." I moved and sat down on his lap, with my back against the steering wheel. "But this is not so bad." I began kissing him slowly. His chin, his cheek and then the other. "I want you…" The tip of his nose, both of his eyelids, and when I kissed his forehead, I felt him unbuttoning my pants. "I need you, Eric. I need you inside me." When our lips finally met, they did at the same time as our bodies.

I moved slowly over him, enjoying the contact and friction. "You're the most incredible woman I've ever met in my life…" he murmured against my lips, before melting into a passionate kiss.

His strong hands grabbed me firmly by the waist, but we didn't move faster. There was no rush. We just wanted to enjoy the feeling of warmth that started to invade everything.

"I want you, Sookie. I will protect you no matter what…"

Neither of us was able to utter a word. We were silent, only the sound of our bodies against each other, nothing more. No zombies or interruptions.

Just us.

Eric slept peacefully, with a smile on his lips, but I couldn't sleep at all. Every time I tried to relax, I heard a noise, maybe the wind or some animal, and I was nervous. I wouldn't be able to sleep, I was convinced, so I took out my notebook and started writing. There was no need for dates – especially if I had no idea what day was – so I wrote no more.

_Today was a tough day. Eric and I left after Compton disappeared, and things were not too good. We almost died. That's what happened._

_I wish the world never have changed. I wish it would never have become a place so scary._

_Phrases I've written in this diary so many times that I lost the count. But still, I'm writing them again. I need to remind myself that I'm not completely crazy. Although, I suppose if I am, it wouldn't matter. We were a few of us still alive, and after what Eric told me about the inhabitant of that town, I am convinced that there are people out there, crazier than me._

_I was about to lose Eric. God, I remember it clearly, even the smallest detail. The darkness, the undead surrounding us, and the emptiness inside me when I couldn't see him. I thought it was all over, the luck finally abandoned us, and suddenly…_

_Guess it's too early to think about it, or talk about it. Even too early to write about it._

_Will I ever be ready to face the fact that I was too close to lose him?_

_It scares me to think that I could have been left alone, although after six months taking care of myself, I would have found a way. It wouldn't have been easy, especially after meeting Eric and everything we had experienced and lived together._

_What would I have done without him? I think I'm in lo…_

"You can't sleep?" Eric's voice startled me, and I closed the notebook quickly. I felt like a fool.

"No. I think I'm too nervous about what happened." I couldn't get it out of my mind. When I close my eyes I just saw zombies chasing us, and what was worse, in my fantasy, dream, nightmare, or whatever, Eric did not appear. I never saw him again.

"I know it's hard, but you need to forget, Sookie." Easier said than done. "Unfortunately we have experienced the same kind of situation before, and I don't think things will magically improve." I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. Maybe I got to relax enough I'd be able to sleep. "I'll stay awake watching, okay? So you can sleep."

"Eric…"

"I slept for a while. I'm good."

I threw the bag into the back seat and closed my eyes. I tried to relax, which was not easy, but I made the effort. Sooner or later I'd have to sleep, and I preferred doing it with Eric by my side.

* * *

**Bill POV**

A room to myself.

I still could not believe how lucky I was to find the group Victor Madden led. Or rather, they were the ones who found me.

"Hope it's to your liking." I turned around and saw Madden leaning against the doorframe. "We don't have many luxuries, but at least we can close our eyes and sleep without fearing of being devoured. Most people here have to share bedrooms, but a few of us are privileged, like you and me, and we can enjoy the privacy of a closed door."

I plopped down on the bed, enjoying the comfort. "I had to sleep in a fucking tent while I was with the other guy I told you about. It was terrible, and we were surrounded by bugs." I laughed at the memory. "I never liked to go camping, and I don't think I could stand it for much longer."

"The man you were with, you know his name?"

I just shrugged, not answering his question. "I thought I could trust him, but when that bitch showed up, he completely forgot about me. Anyway, I won't have to see him anymore." That life was over, thankfully.

"A few men and I will go out at dawn, do you want to come with us?" At dawn? Is he mad?

"Why so early?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at me. "There are businesses we must deal with. You know, doing good and all." If it was a speech similar to those Northman used to pronounce, he could save it. "The zombies don't kill each other, so we have to take care of them, don't you think? It'll be fun, like a game. What do you say? Are you in?"

That night I slept like a baby, although the cut on my leg, and the injuries Northman caused, bothered me a lot. Sookie did a great job taking care of me, and it was a shame I couldn't return the favor. We both would have enjoyed each other for hours.

This was a life that I deserve to live. A safe house, private accommodation, and women at my disposal. Madden said nothing about they were married or prohibited, so I thought I could take advantage of the situation. I hadn't fucked since this shit began, and masturbating was not funny. Every time I heard Northman and Sookie fucking…I wished to grab the gun and shoot him. That would have left me the way open to her. We may hate each other, but I'm convinced that eventually, she would yield to my charms.

"Yeah!" I hit the zombie between the eyes.

"Nice job!" Madden and half a dozen men took me to what looked like a shooting range a few miles away from the mansion. The undead were free, but they didn't get into the woods.

"How long have you been doing this?" With weapons like theirs, we wouldn't have problems facing a horde of zombies.

"We formed the group a couple of weeks after the virus began infecting humans. At first we were a few of us, but people joined us. Guess they saw us as the best option to save their skin." And I was wasting my time with Northman. "We lost a lot, but we found more. We have become a large and powerful group."

"What about the women?" Madden looked at me seriously for a moment, and then laughed.

"I see you've noticed. We found most of them hidden in their homes, or with their children in the schools. There was no time to find their families, so we took them with us. We need some fun, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Victor Madden understood me perfectly, and I was sure that night I would share my bed.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I woke up rested and wrapped in Eric's jacket. The Jeep was moving but I couldn't see where we were going. I remember I fell asleep in the front seat next to him, but now I was lying on the back.

How did I get here?

I sat down, and touched his shoulder.

"Hey beautiful, how did you sleep?" He smiled as I stretched. I was sore. How long had I been sleeping?

"Pretty well. What time is it?"

"Almost noon." Wow, I did not think I was so tired. "Last night you were exhausted, and I think the whiskey helped you sleep better." I chuckled, but he was probably right. "It was almost five in the morning and you kept moving on the seat, so I laid you in the back, and I've been driving since then."

"Sorry I slept so much…"

"Nonsense, you needed to rest. Also, driving relaxes me, and I've seen that we are near a city. I know it's dangerous, but we'll find more supplies and fuel than in small towns. Be in and out."

"You think it's a good idea? After what happened last night…"

"We're running out of gas, so we have no choice. I wouldn't want to walk around, do you?" I shook my head, and climbed to the front seat. "We'll drive around for a bit before, and we'll do it as soon as possible. I promise you."

"I trust you, Eric."

Not that I was excited with the idea, but Eric was right. We didn't have a lot of gas, and the food was disappearing. We would have to stop sooner or later, but a city? If I learnt anything from the zombies, is that they concentrate on areas where they can find more food. In the cities there were many more people to feed on than in small towns, and they would only move to another place when they ran out of food.

It was risky, yes, but what other option we had?

"What makes you think we will find gas?" I asked him directly, but I didn't expect him to answer. "People went crazy and took everything they could. I saw some people carrying dozens of drums of fuel in their cars, so maybe there's nothing left."

"At least we have to try. We could also take out the gasoline from the vehicles we find. I don't think the owners are going to call the cops or anything." I laughed, but the joke was not at all funny. "Sookie, I'm going to take care of you, and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know, Eric. But I don't know if this is a good idea."

* * *

**Eric POV**

Maybe it makes me a bad person to think on it, but since Bill Compton left, things had improved a lot. His mere presence made me lose my temper, even before Sookie showed up, but then it was much worse. His attitude changed dramatically, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I did something I might regret.

Bill was a traitor, yes, but killing him wouldn't turn into someone better than the zombies. They didn't know what they did, they only fed, but me? I would turn into a murderer, and I wasn't prepared for that. We didn't threaten him at any time – at least Sookie didn't – but I made myself clear. I would do whatever was necessary to protect her. I did not like the way he looked at her, and after Sookie told me what happened between them, even less.

Stealing in small towns was okay to go unnoticed, but we couldn't keep doing it forever. It was increasingly difficult to find supplies, so a big city was our best option.

"Compton stole my gun, but at least he did not find the best ones. With one gun he won't have come very far." I wish he would have run much earlier, he would have saved us so much trouble.

"You think he's alive?" The fact that Sookie is worried for him became her better person than me.

I couldn't give her an answer – not the one I was thinking – so I shrugged. "Maybe. He proved not to be very smart to run away wounded and on foot. But the truth is that I don't care." Sookie looked at me for a few seconds, guess she was trying to decide whether or not I was a monster. "You've seen how he behaves, but I've lived with him for a long time, and I don't like it. I thought about getting rid of him on numerous occasions, but I did not because deep down I thought he didn't deserve it. I was wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a bad person, Sookie. That's what I mean." I said no more. "At first I thought he was acting that way because he lost someone or simply couldn't accept what happened, but then…"

"What?"

How to explain without scaring or traumatizing her? "Do you remember those movies in which the hero saves the girl and the bad guy is super bad?" Sookie smiled nodding. Was this the best way to explain it? "Everyone tries to understand him, to accept him as he is, but it's just a façade. There's nothing real behind that mask."

"The bad guys always end up dead, Eric. And that's how the movies end. A good man takes the girl, saves the world, and everyone is happy, right?"

"Everybody's happy."

It was still daylight when we reached the city and everything was a mess, broken, and dead. Exactly what I expected.

"It's like a hurricane had passed destroying everything…" Sookie kept looking out the window, watching everything, but I knew what she was really looking for. She watched the zombies did not appear. "It's strange to think that this cinema will never be released new movies."

"The last ones I watched were rubbish…" We laughed, but did not last long. Along with a bank was a dead body – or rather what was left of one – and I saw it was a child.

"Oh my God…" Sookie covered her mouth, and I knew she was trying not to burst into tears.

"Don't look. Close your eyes."

"No." She said, shaking her head. "This is the world we live in now, Eric, and I'll have to get used sooner or later. I know I'll see horrible things, and I won't be the same person ever again, but… I love you take care of me, and I love you think you should protect me, Eric, but you can't save me from everything, good or bad. You can't save me from myself."

"I'll try, Sookie."

We saw a gas station a few meters ahead of us, and looked at Sookie before heading there. It seemed isolated, so it was our chance. "I'll go in first, checking there are no zombies, and then you'll pick up supplies while I take care of gas, okay?"

"We could both go in, we would save time."

"I won't take risks, Sookie." I parked next to one of the suppliers and got out of the car. "Wait here. I'll get back in less than five minutes."

"Be careful."

"Always."

Everything was dark, the windows boarded up and food on the floor. I could hardly take a step without stepping on a bag of chips, or bumping into a soda can. The refrigerators were open and ice melted on the floor. I would be fall but it was dried.

I checked the payment counter, but there was nobody. I went to the back, but the store and restrooms were also empty. There were not zombies, and if they were, left long ago.

I searched the suppliers' control, and one of them went on. "Yeah, a little luck, thank God…"

"Baby, we're lucky…" Sookie quickly got out of the car, but a zombie launched at her. "Sookie!" I ran towards her at full speed, and shook him off. I kicked him several times, but only one thing would kill him. I pulled out the gun, but Sookie was faster than me stabbing him in the head with an iron bar.

"Sookie, look at me." I took her face in my hands. "Are you okay? Have you been bitten? Are you hurt?" I examined her arms and neck, but she seemed to be perfectly. "You are in one piece, baby. Come, we'll fill the tank and we're getting out."

"And what about the supplies? I can go and…"

"No need. We'll look for them elsewhere."

"Eric, I'm fine!" She came before I could stop her, but at least she would be safe in there. There weren't zombies, and I knew she would go out in a matter of minutes. But what worried me was that she did not react as always. She was cold as ice, staring into my eyes as if nothing had happened.

Did she mean it when she said that I couldn't save her from herself?

I was lucky to fill the tank, and a pair of more drums. There wasn't a lot in cities, but it seemed we had won the lottery.

I waited a couple of minutes, but Sookie did not get out. What the hell was she doing? I needed to know she was okay, I needed her to come to me and leave this place.

"Sookie?" I looked for her everywhere, but there was no sign of her. "Sookie!" I wanted to run, but I would attract too much attention. We had only seen a zombie, but it had to be more. They'd be hiding or feeding, but they'd appear sooner or later.

The quickest way of searching her was by car, so I started circling around the area. She couldn't have gone far. We still had a couple of hours of light, but staying in the city at night would be a suicide.

I was beginning to get desperate, thinking that I wouldn't find her, until I suddenly stopped the Jeep.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Sookie, what are you doing?" I got out of the car and picked her up from the bench she was sitting on. Had she gone completely insane? "You can't do this! Sookie, you hear me? You can't go out without…"

"I didn't want to leave him alone…" I looked at the remains of the child, but the body was not whole.

"He can't feel anything anymore, Sookie. He's dead." I was being cruel, but there was nothing we could about it. "He left a long time, sweetheart. He's no longer suffering, he didn't become one of them. His death was… Maybe his body is still here, but he is long gone."

I picked her up and got her in the car. Coming here was a mistake, and I prayed Sookie was able to move on.

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**

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	7. Chapter 7

**Well, I've decided to update the whole fic, so I'll do it as soon as possible.**

**Thanks a lot for reading.**

**:D **

* * *

**Chapter 7**

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**Sookie POV**

It was already dark when I woke, and we were back in the Jeep, heading to an unknown place, but probably out of town. A zombie was about to kill me at the gas station, but I didn't even react. I picked up the iron bar and stabbed him in the head like it was the most normal thing. I didn't think, I just acted.

Seeing that child's body left me shocked. I had seen bodies before, but they were all adults, and there wasn't too much to differentiate between male or female. I could see his face every time I closed my eyes, and felt sick at the memory. I thought the zombies were adults, feeding each other and that's it, but the kids… Was stupid to think that they would forget the children?

Was I getting colder?

"I don't know why I did." If Eric waited for an explanation, I had none. "I know you're angry at me for getting away like I did. I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought of that child, and the next thing I remember was walking down the street, as if I had a mission. I came to the bench and sat down. I wasn't afraid of the zombies, I couldn't really feel anything. I was just looking at the body, that's all."

Eric stopped the Jeep abruptly, and I saw him gripping the steering wheel tightly. His knuckles were white, and I guess he was furious at me.

"I'm so sorry, Eric."

Would it be an enough apology for it? I know that I behaved like a fool, and I deserved everything he said, but I hoped he didn't. I did not need a fight, not at this time.

"I know I did wrong, it was stupid and I could have died. But right now I don't need you to tell me that I'm idiot, okay? Just…" God, how difficult it is. "Talk to me, please."

I don't know how long I had been sleeping, but those seconds while I waited for Eric to speak, were the most stressful of my life.

"What do you want me to say? That I understand?" I sighed, knowing a fight was coming. "Have you any idea of how I felt when I couldn't find you? It was like…I felt like someone was ripping my heart out of my chest. I feared the worst, and when I got in the car I prayed to find you."

"Eric, I…"

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I had heard him yell other times – especially at Compton – but I never saw him so…mad? No, more like disappointed.

"I felt an impulse." I whispered, shrugging. "I can't explain it. I know…I know you're mad at me, and you're right. But please, Eric, please, I need you to forgive me. I'll never do anything like that again, I promise. I swear."

I desperately needed his forgiveness.

"I'm not mad at you, Sookie." I breathed relieved, but only lasted a few seconds. "I have no right to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, that's your business."

"Eric…"

"Let me finish, please." I nodded silently, and focused on my feet. They suddenly seemed very interesting. "You think I'm angry about what happened but it's not that. I feared the worst, Sookie, when I couldn't find you, and I realized that moving on without you had no sense. You've become a very important person for me…not that I have many…but…well, guess you know what I mean."

"You are very important to me too, Eric, and I'm sorry I worried you. It was never my intention…" I couldn't say more before his lips were against mine, kissing me desperately.

"Don't ever scare me like that…" He kissed me, and this time I hugged him with all my strength, clinging to him as if my life depended on it. "You know I worry too much for you to lose you."

"I'll never separate from you, Eric."

Eric turned on the Jeep again, and the headlights lit up a zombie with torn clothes, heading to the car.

"God, look at him. He won't have fed in weeks." I muttered when I saw him. The ribs were so marked that it seemed there was not left an inch of skin on his body. "It's like seeing a ghost…"

"Let's get out of here." The car began moving, but I put my hand on his arm. "We can't leave him like this." Eric nodded, pulled his gun out the window and shot him in the head. The noise would attract more, but we wouldn't be here when they came.

His body fell limp to the ground, blood spreading around while the wind stirred the few hairs left on his head. There was no way to know how old he was when he was alive, but by the way he moved seemed like an old man.

"We have to find a place to spend the night." I said to change the subject, and we left from there.

During the next days I couldn't stop thinking about that boy we saw in the city, and the old man Eric killed in the middle of the road. I don't know why, but I couldn't remove them from my head. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were two people unable to defend themselves. Innocent victims. All were, but I guess when it comes to children or the elderly, is even worse.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A month had passed since that night, or so I thought. Keeping track became increasingly difficult, but it didn't matter too much. I had no appointments to attend to, get to work on time, or forget to go to the dentist. All that was gone, there was nothing left.

"Writing on your diary again?" Eric had gone to cut some firewood while I waited outside the tent. We found a good place in a national park, and we hadn't seen a single zombie for the last weeks. That had to be a good sign, right?

"Yes." I closed the notebook and put it into my backpack again. "I should have gone with you to help. It's not fair you have to do all the work yourself."

"I'm fine, baby." He put the firewood by the fire, and kissed me on the forehead. "Also, if a cop is going to arrests us for illegal camping, it'll be me." I laughed. His jokes always made me laugh, and I was glad things between us were as the first day. "What's for dinner?"

"Well…I peeled a few potatoes that wouldn't have lasted too long, and that deer meat you hunted." At first I felt unable to accept that Eric had killed an animal, but after thinking about it, I understood. We had to survive, and it was us or it. Unfortunately the deer lost the battle when Eric killed it. "I know it's not much…"

"It's perfect, baby." He began undressing and I stared at him like a fool. No matter how many times I had seen him naked. Every time he took off his clothes to wash himself, I was looking at him with my mouth hanging open. "I'm gonna take off this smell and be right back, okay?"

"Okay, the food will be ready when you get back."

We maybe had to live without a roof, a bed, a kitchen or a bathroom, but being with Eric was more than enough for me. Funny thing we never appreciate what we have until we lose it. That's what happened to us, and all the survivors who managed to get on with their lives in a world that was no longer the same. It was like go camping forever, and although at first the idea did not excite me, we were safer here than anywhere else. Small towns were no longer an option since someone was taking care of…well, I really prefer not to think about it. And the cities were discarded after what happened the last time. It was too risky, and we're just two of us. A larger group might have managed to take more things, but we couldn't watch and look for at the same time.

"Wow…water's awesome. We could take a night bath tonight. You, me, and the stars." He was still wet, the drops falling sensually all over his body, and all I could think on was licking each one of them.

"I forgot to bring my swimsuit."

"Mmm, baby, you won't need a swimsuit." He began kissing me, but our stomachs rumbled at the same time, breaking the magic. "Maybe we should eat before."

"Good idea."

The more canned food we could save the better. The deer Eric haunted would provide us with food at least for another week, and after that we would survive with what we had with us. There were several nearby towns, but staying away was the best option to stay alive.

We did not need to eat much, just enough to keep the energy. No more was needed. Also, I just had no appetite lately.

"Are you okay?" I nodded, but the truth is I had a headache that didn't seem to want to abandon me. "Migraine again?"

"Yeah, but it'll go away. I think it's from being so long in the sun. It's nothing."

"I'll get you an aspirin." I insisted that I didn't need it, but Eric is as stubborn as me. Or even more. "You can't go on like this, and I won't let you feel bad just because we don't have a lot." He took out a pill and handed it to me along with a bottle of water. "We'll look for more."

"Thanks." I put it in my mouth and took a long drink of water. It was cool, and I felt much better. "You're right, we'll find more. Luckily we still have a fairly complete kit, but it never hurts to have a little more of everything." I kissed him quickly on the lips, and began clearing the dishes when Eric stopped me.

"Go to rest, I'll handle this." The perfect man. Why I couldn't find him before?

"Wake me up before dark." I kissed him again and went into the tent. The weather had improved considerably in the last month, but the nights were still cold. I bundled myself up in the blanket and fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Maybe I was more tired than I thought.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"He's not here to save you." Bill walked slowly towards me, while I tried to get away in a hurry. It seemed he was much faster than me, and no matter how fast I ran, because every time I looked over my shoulder, I saw him closer to me.

"You can't run away from me, Sookie. I'm always one step ahead." His evil laugh rang like an echo everywhere. Where was I? A building? Darkness covered everything, and I couldn't even see where I was going.

"Do you think you will escape?" I was out of breath, but I wouldn't stop running. "No one can help you. No one will save you. You will always be alone, like now."

"NO!" I yelled, but I didn't stop at any time.

"Yes, Sookie." And again that creepy laugh. "Eric is not going to come for you. He won't come to your rescue." I ran and ran until I bumped against something.

"Look at your boyfriend, Sookie." Bill was right behind me, grabbing me by the shoulders so I couldn't escape. "Do you think he'll help you?" I looked up, but Eric's face was covered by darkness. "You'll be alone forever…"

Suddenly I could see his face, and I saw it wasn't Eric anymore. He had become a zombie.

"NOOOOO!" I yelled, hurting my throat, when I felt his mouth on my neck, sinking his teeth and tearing me apart.

"Sookie! Sookie, wake up!" I opened my eyes, and when I saw Eric I couldn't stop screaming, and moving as fast as I could to be on the other side of the tent, as far as possible from him. It's stupid, I know, but I couldn't help it. "Sookie, baby, are you okay?"

He was just worried for me, I understood, but the dream – or rather nightmare – it seemed so real, that I needed a few seconds before feeling safe again. Eric looked sad at me, as if he had done something wrong, but he didn't. He had done nothing at all, and I felt like a complete stupid for having recoiled from him the way I did.

"Sookie, calm down, okay?" He spoke so low that I could barely hear him, but I know why he did it. He probably suspected I had a nightmare, and raising his voice would have scared me even more. He was right. "Honey, everything's fine, alright? It's okay, it was just a bad dream…"

"It was more than that, Eric." Not that I wanted to talk about it, but I knew that keeping it for myself would be worse. "It was so real… I was running in the dark, couldn't see anything. I heard a voice. Bill Compton." His jaw tightened hearing his name. "He chased me, and although I was running, I couldn't escape. He said I was alone, no one would come to help me."

"I will able be there, you already know that." He slowly got closed to me, and this time I let him hold and comfort me in his strong arms. "What else?"

Why did Eric have to appear like a zombie in my dream? I preferred the kind of dreams in which he was the absolute protagonist, and in most of them he did not wear many clothes. Those were good dreams, really great, but I had the worst nightmare of my life.

"You were a zombie." I said no more, without even looking into his eyes.

"Sookie, look at me." I shook my head like a little girl, but his hand under my chin forced me to look into his eyes. "It was just a nightmare, nothing more. No need to feel bad about it. I was a zombie, so what?" He shrugged like it didn't matter. It mattered. It really mattered.

"Eric, you…you attacked me while Bill was holding me. It was as if he could control you, but…"

"It was just a nightmare, Sookie." He insisted, but I did not see it the same way. "You think I don't dream?" Of course he did. How could he not after seeing so many horrible things? "In my dreams you're not a zombie, Sookie. You don't bite or attack me, but it's even worse."

"How?" I asked sincerely. What could be worse than seeing him become a zombie?

"The thing that scares me the most" and he stroked my cheek, "is not becoming one of them, Sookie." I was about to protest, to tell him that would be something much worse than death, but he stopped me putting a finger on my lips. "What I fear the most is that I can't save you. I panic thinking something might happen to you, and I'm not able to help you. I would hate myself, and I probably wouldn't want to keep living, if you weren't with me."

I was wrong, yes there was something worse than become a zombie. "I was so sad when I saw you in my dream…" I mumbled. "I felt guilty for what had happened to you, and I didn't even try to stop you."

"The nightmares always try to hurt us, Sookie, but the trick is to not believe they can." It was good advice, and I'd remember it the next time I had a dream as bad as the last one.

* * *

**Bill POV**

"Don't stop…" I hissed as I felt her slowing down.

It was being the best month of my life. Madden convinced me to go out with his group and we ended up killing more than two dozen of zombies. They walked – or rather crawled – for the roads near the forests. They were looking for food or just moving because they couldn't do anything else. It was great, like shooting at a fair, but the prizes were not stuffed.

"You won't go anywhere until I come, bitch." I grabbed her hips and moved faster. She was in my bed to please me, and she wouldn't leave until I was satisfied.

Madden convinced me to have a good time the first night I arrived at the mansion, and I chose a woman named Lorena. Brunette, with dark eyes and pale skin. Perfect. Nothing like Sookie Stackhouse. I got hard thinking of her, yes, but then I remembered the time she hit me in the balls, and I wanted to kill her.

Victor said the women were locked up in their rooms because it was dangerous for them to go outside. They convinced them that it was the best, so we had no problems when it came to do with them as we wished. They behaved rebelliously when they arrived at the mansion, but after a few weeks, they were as docile as kittens.

"Please…please…" I wish I was with Lorena again. This woman – or girl – didn't stop whining and begging me to let her go.

"You're mine now, Jessica!" I mumbled, and slapped her in the face. She would learn to behave properly. She had no voice or vote, only a mission, and she wasn't doing a good job for the moment.

"Get out!" I pushed her and she fell to the floor. I couldn't stand her whining anymore, and I wanted to throw up to see her face covered with tears. "Go away before I change my mind, bitch!" She ran, grabbing her clothes and closed the door. Perhaps it was for the better, 'cause I didn't even enjoy it.

I got out of bed, still naked, and lit a cigarette by the window. Some of Madden's men were practicing with the zombies we had trapped, and others just drank beer while watching the show.

"This is life…"

I got dressed and went down to join them. I liked to blow those bastards heads. I loved watching their brains scattered on the ground. But the most fun was shooting them in other parts of the body, and see them crawling towards us. The assholes thought they had a chance to feed on us. They kept walking in our direction, like they were going to get it.

"Nice shot, Compton. See you're beginning to appreciate the game." I lit another cigarette and put the shotgun on a table. "Would you like coming to hunt with us?"

"I think I have." And it was amazing. These zombie-proof trucks were awesome. You could shoot from inside as if it were a fucking video game, and the best was that no blood got you.

"This time will be different."

"Sure, I'm in." I didn't know what Madden had in mind, but it sure would be fun. "I've been with the redhead, and it's been disappointing. I think I need some action." We didn't need further explanation between men.

"Good. We'll leave tomorrow morning. It's best doing it when there's still light, and we'll be back at dusk. We have businesses to deal with, but I promise you that it'll be very, very funny."

That night I looked for the company of Lorena. She did know what I liked in bed, and never, ever opposed to anything. It should be: I command, she obeys.

"I hope you're ready for what you'll do tomorrow. It takes a strong stomach and be a son of a bitch." Victor didn't tell me too much about it, but I am a man, what else is needed? "Although I bet you already are."

"You know me very well, baby."

We fucked for hours, doing everything I wanted. Lorena made sure I enjoyed even if she didn't. A perfect professional. But with a difference. I hadn't to pay now.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Someone was pounding on the door, and when I opened my eyes I saw that it was morning. Damn, I had barely slept the night before, but I looked for Lorena in bed, I didn't find her. She would have slipped out in the middle of the night, as she often did. I didn't see her a lot during the day, perhaps she slept all the time, or was with other men. That bothered me. She was mine, and mine alone.

"If you want to come with us, Compton, you better move your ass." One of the Madden guys sent me the message, and I got dressed quickly. I still had no idea what we were gonna do, but the simple fact of being in the road without fearing the zombies to attack me, was more than enough.

The trucks were ready when I got to the main hall. They guys were excited, even I could see it in their big smiles, and Madden approached me when he saw me.

"Ready?"

I shrugged. "I'd be if I knew what we'll do. Aren't you gonna give me a clue?"

"It's a surprise, but I promise you that you'll love it."

We drove for about an hour, and Victor was right in saying that we would leave at dawn. Otherwise we would return to the mansion when it was already dusk, and the fucking zombies were attracted to the darkness. Perhaps that gave them the chance to attack more easily.

"We've arrived." Shouted one of them, and they began getting out.

"Where are we?" It was a town, but I didn't recognize the place. "Madden, what the fuck are we doing here? The undead are moving on the roads, it's been a long time since they left."

"We haven't come for the zombies."

We checked the town, destroying cars, windows, and shooting against the zombies that they were still moving on the ground. Some of them were missing legs and they just dragged themselves. It was an awful spectacle, but I was having fun practicing.

"This is fun, but I don't believe you brought me here just to destroy an abandoned town."

"Wait and see. The fun has only just begun."

Minutes later I heard screams. Some of Madden's men brought women with them, and pointed to the men with their arms. It was a small group, about ten or fifteen people at most, but the women did not stop screaming.

"What are you going to do with the men?" I asked expectantly.

"What we've been doing since this shit started." Then I heard gunshots. The men laid dead on the ground, and the women were brought into the trucks. "If we want to repopulate the planet, we'll need them, don't you think?"

"What about the men? Why did you kill them?" I didn't even react when they were executed. "They could have joined us. Like I did."

"It's difficult to control them when they know their wives and girlfriends are going to be used for other purposes." I smiled when I understood. "We don't need more problems than we already have, Bill. Guess you get it."

"Sure." And I thought of another woman who might well serve to that cause. Although before I would take care of killing, personally, her boyfriend.

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**

**I would love to read your reviews, you know I love them.**

**Have a nice week. **

**:K**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here I am with a new update.**

**How's been your week? I barely had time to anything, so I took advantage of Friday night.**

**Enjoy.**

**:K**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**Eric POV**

Two weeks later we had to get back to the car to find more supplies in another nearby town. The deer was a big help, but we both knew our luck will end sooner or later. I found other animals, but most of them had been attacked by predators, or infected by eating contaminated meat. Most of them birds.

"Are you okay?" Sookie had passed pretty bad days lately. That nightmare was still causing her headaches, but I had the feeling that it was something more. "You want some water?"

"I'm fine, Eric." She smiled, but I didn't buy it for a second. "When are we going to come to…wherever we go?"

"I don't think we're far away. It's hard to know now that road signs have disappeared." It wasn't weird. Who was here before would have used them as a weapon against the zombies, or just played with them to make life difficult for others. "I know you liked the last place where we camped, but I don't believe we can come back. We'd spend too much fuel, and we couldn't come and go all the time."

"I know." She said nodding. "I knew it wouldn't be forever, but it was a nice place, with a river. It'll be difficult to find something better." She pulled out a protein bar from her backpack and began eating it. It was the only thing she ate lately, and although it was healthy, she'd also need real food.

"I think we still have some chocolate, you want some?" She launched on my backpack in the back seat, and looked everywhere. "Well, I'll take that as a yes."

"I love chocolate." She finally found it, and attacked it as if she had never tasted it before. "You know my weak point, Northman."

"That's just a weakness, baby. I know a lot more." Especially I knew she was tickled behind her ears. "But right now you'll have to settle for chocolate. I don't want to have an accident."

I also liked the chocolate, but I told Sookie a lie so she didn't feel guilty for eating it all. She enjoyed it much more than me, and hearing her moan in pleasure with every bite she ate was more than enough for me.

Don't you really want some? It's pretty good." I enjoyed another of her moans, and it was becoming harder and harder to focus on the road. "I don't understand why you don't like it."

"Mysteries of life." I answered no more.

"I should save a little, 'cause I know I'll regret eaten it all when I want more." I laughed, but she glared at me, to laugh a second later. "I'm serious, Eric," but she was still chuckling.

"We'll look for more in the first place we find. People went crazy looking for water and canned food. They probably didn't stop for chocolate." If a sweet made my girl happy, she would have them.

"I know I've not been myself for the last days…well, maybe the last couple of weeks, but I hadn't nightmares anymore, so at least it's good news. I don't wanna you to think I'm crazy…"

"I never thought it," I said quickly.

"I did." She said no more. "I wanted to be who I was again, but part of me refused. I struggled with myself, and I was losing the battle. I interpreted that nightmare as a premonition when it wasn't. It was stupid, and I feel like a fool." I stroked the back of her neck, and she dazzled me with one of her smiles. "But I've stopped caring about it, so I'm good now. Much better than good now that I have chocolate."

"I'll remember it in the future."

"You know, we could try in a mall." I looked at her surprised. "We won't get attention parking behind, and we can get everything we need. I know you're thinking it's insane, and I always opposed, but we need to be realistic. We'll have more luck than in local stores. I can't even believe we found so many things in small shops, but sooner or later that luck will abandon us." She was right, but still risky. "We have enough gas, but we need supplies and it's the best place."

I nodded, and agreed, but in my heart I prayed that we didn't find any mall. I didn't want to take risks, and be locked up in such a big place was dangerous. The zombies could show up anywhere, and there would be hundreds of them.

"It'll be fine, Eric. I feel it." She was so sure of herself that I wished to feel the same.

Luckily we did not find a mall, though I'm glad I didn't say it aloud. Sookie was pretty strong, to be so small, and I did not wish to feel her fists in any part of my body.

"At least we've found chocolate." Chocolate and many more things we hadn't seen for months. "This has nuts on it, want some?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks." I turned a corner and we ran into a horde of zombies. "Fuck!"

"Shit! Eric, what do we do?" I tried getting through them, but they were too much.

"Hold on!" I backed up and hoped not to hit anything.

"Eric, what are you doing?" Sookie was hysterical – I understood her – but we needed to calm down. "What if there are more behind?" I kept turning my head over and over again, making sure I wasn't going to hit a car or a building. "God, they don't stop coming!"

"Buckle up, this is gonna be fun." I rolled down the window and began firing at the closer zombies. That would give us a little time and space to escape. "Take the gun and open the window. Just enough to shoot, but nothing more." I warned her.

"Okay." Her hands were shaking, but she shot and succeeded every time. The zombies fell one after another, but they kept coming. "Eric, look." She pointed to the left, and I saw a possible escape. "You think we can get out?" She fired again and hit a zombie between the eyes. "God, I'm running out of bullets. Eric, we gotta go now!"

I accelerated and got through them, getting them out of our way. "Close the window, we could get infected with the blood." Sookie did as I said, and the blood of one of them splattered the car hood. "I told you."

"C'mon! We can go now." Sookie was right, the hole was big enough, but the more we killed, the better. "What are you doing?"

"End with this." I turned sharply again, knocking several more of them, until the rest chased us, but we got it. "You okay?" I still could see them in the rearview, but they didn't pose a threat to us anymore. They weren't be able to trace us, especially travelling by car, and we'd get rid of them really soon.

"Yeah…" She breathed relieved, leaning back on the seat. "My heart… God, it's like it's gonna get out through my chest. It was so sudden…"

"I know. I barely had time to react. They jumped on us so fast…"

"I get it." She put her hand on mine, giving it a squeeze. "I can't even believe I didn't miss a single shot. I was so nervous that my hands were trembling and…" The truth is they were still shaking. "I was short of breath and I'm still in the car."

"It's normal, I feel the same." I stopped the car when I was sure they weren't following us, and we both breathed deeply for a few minutes. We needed to calm down, I at least, and think on what had just happened. "I heard nothing, did you?"

"Nothing at all." She looked at me frowning, and mirroring my expression. "It was like they suddenly showed up…I dunno, maybe they're learning to be more careful?" Before this madness started I would have laughed at that possibility, but I even believed in that now. "All species evolve, Eric, why not the undead?"

"They're dead, Sookie. I don't think they're able to evolve by themselves, don't you think? Maybe they just got lucky."

"Anyway, they scared us to death, and right now we just have to relax a bit and sleep. We're exhausted, and we'd feel better when we rested a little."

"Yeah."

Camping didn't sound very appetizing, and I knew Sookie would agree with me. We stayed in the car, wrapped up in the same blanket, and cuddled.

"Eric, are you asleep?" She whispered so low that I barely heard her, but I was awake.

"No. Can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see all the zombies coming towards us." We already had enough reasons to have nightmares, but what happened hours before would prevent me to sleep for a long, long time. "You can't sleep either?"

"Not at all. I also see them when I close my eyes. I even have the feeling that I can hear them scratching the car." Yeah, it was the same for me. "We had been so calm for the last few days that I almost managed to forget the feeling of being chased all the time."

"I know it's hard, but we should sleep."

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I tried hiding the fact that my hands hadn't stopped shaking since we left the town, but was stupid. Besides, I was freezing, so I could pretend I was only cold. The chills ran through my body, even wearing Eric's jacket.

"It's all right, baby. We're safe." Words that Eric had repeated a dozen times for the last hour. I know he was just trying to make me feel better, comfort me, but I think he was also doing it for himself.

"My hands are still trembling, and I bet I wouldn't be able to stand up without my knees turning into jelly." I chuckled, but it was reflex. I was actually terrified. "I think I'll never get used to zombies, it's impossible."

"If we ever stop reacting to them, we'll have changed too, and I don't want that to happen." I neither. That the world had gone insane, and humans turned into monsters, were not excuses for us to become insensitive. Yeah, many things had changed, but I still had remorse every time I killed a zombie. I couldn't help it. "I still feel sick when I see what little remains of some of them."

"Thought it was just me…" I was cold, very cold, and got closer to Eric. I needed to feel safe, and feeling the warmth of his body against mine was a big help. "Do you think the noise attracts them or we're just us?" Eric looked at me confused, like I was feeling. "I dunno, maybe they are able to smell us, you know, the blood or something. We don't know much about what happened to them, apart from being infected and turned into undead. During the first few weeks there was hardly news, and doctors didn't offer help to anyone. Vaccines, treatments…nothing."

"I think scientists accidentally created it. Guess in their desire to create something that would make us immune, they screwed it. I didn't want to become Superman, so I refused flatly. And I wasn't the only one." He looked at me, gifting me a sweet smile. "But we're screwed now. And it's not a cliché. We are so fucked up that I don't think we can get out of this."

"Humanity has survived worse, Eric." Yeah, but nothing seemed as bad as this. "Wars, famines, diseases… This is just another disease that still has no cure."

"I don't think there's a cure, Sookie. Those things wouldn't be wandering from one place to another, feeding on human flesh if it would be, don't you think? I feel sorry for them, but that doesn't stop me from killing them to defend the people I care about, and myself." He cared about me, I noticed, because I also cared for him, but hearing him speak with such determination made me feel that we were closer than ever.

If he was expecting a verbal response, I had none. But instead I got closer and kissed him. It wasn't a passionate kiss, more a sign of affection and intimacy between us.

Or at least I hoped Eric understood.

"A cure wouldn't change anything." I mumbled against his lips, still feeling them against mine. "I feel like a bad person, but not for what happened, you and I would never have met each other. It's selfish to think that way, putting my happiness before others' pain, but I can't help it. I feel lucky to have found you, and I don't care if that makes me a horrible person."

"You're not a horrible person, Sookie, and you'd never be. You're too good." I wanted to protest, tell him that he was wrong, but I did not. Maybe if Eric was so sure, I might think it too, right? "Tomorrow we'll look for a quiet place to spend some time, what do you think? Maybe a forest, or the outskirts of a town. We'll be safe."

"It's a great idea."

Maybe it was the talk with Eric, but I felt much better, and I even could sleep for a few hours. Not too many, but enough to keep me awake during the trip. I didn't want Eric to have to drive all the time, but if it was what he wanted, at least I could make conversation.

"Looks like a storm is coming." I didn't like that at all. We were on the road for a couple of hours, and we had no idea where we were going. "I've never liked the rain."

"I got used. I lived in Seattle for a while." It was great we shared everything with each other, because I would never have imagined Eric living in a city as rainy as that one. I wouldn't have been able to, I hated rain so much. "But I'd rather it didn't rain if we have to sleep in the tent."

"We can always stay in the car." He nodded, but we couldn't spend the rest of our days locked up in a small place. We needed fresh air, stretch our legs, and live like normal and civilized people. We were, even though we had to survive in a world so… Eric was right, in a world so screwed. "I'm sure we'll find something, even a cave." What is certain is that it wouldn't be such a bad idea. We'd be covered, we could light a fire, and the zombies wouldn't attack us. If we found one deep enough, it'd be a good place to hide.

"Would you really be willing to sleep in a cave?" He asked me funny. Not the idea excited me, but our options were limited. "Like cavemen?"

"It'd be fun," and I shrugged.

"What's that?" Eric's eyes were fixed on something I couldn't see. "Do you see it?"

"No, where?" I looked and looked, but I could see nothing.

"I think…" He frowned, still looking in the same direction.

"What?!" I yelled.

"I think it's a cottage." I couldn't utter a word when Eric accelerated and entered into the forest. Luckily the trees were quite separated between them, and we didn't hit any. The Jeep was a good vehicle for this kind of terrain, but I didn't know exactly where we were headed.

"Eric, I can't see anything, are you sure?" Just trees, and the darkness the cloudy sky gave us.

"Of course I'm sure, baby, you'll see it." He was grinning. That had to be a good sign, right? "We're lucky, Sookie, and we have to take advantage of that luck." He turned suddenly, and for a moment I believed we'd crash against the first tree we found.

"Eric! Could you slow down, please?" The car suddenly stopped, but not because I had asked.

"Look at that, Sookie. It's perfect." I could finally see it. "I'll get out first to make sure we're alone." He disappeared before I had the chance to say that it could be dangerous, but he was so damn excited that I shut my mouth and sat there. Of course I kept watching in the rearview, looking ahead and both sides. If a zombie would appear, we'd have to get the hell out of there and leave this place behind.

I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I was shocked when I heard Eric knocking on the window. "C'mon Sook, all's good." I got out of the car, but didn't drop the weapon even though Eric told me there was no danger. I felt better knowing that I'd be ready if one of those things appeared suddenly.

"I walked in and it's safe." He told me when we climbed the three steps of the porch. "Come on, we'll be safe inside. I'll take care of getting our things." When I got in I noticed the air was stale. Someone had not lived here for a long, looooong time. It wasn't much, bedroom, a kitchenette, a bathroom and a small and lovely lounge with a fireplace that looked very old. Small but cozy, perfect.

"What if the people who lived here come again?" I hated breaking the fantasy, but it could happen. "If I owned this place, I'd not be happy finding unexpected guests, don't you think?"

"Sookie, there's dust older than you and me everywhere. Whoever lived here hasn't come back for at least twenty years, and I don't think it's gonna happen now." He was right. "I brought our backpacks, food and water. We'll have the weapons close, but I have a good feeling about this place, sweetheart."

"If you're sure, me too." And I kissed him to prove him that I was serious. I had no reasons to doubt him. Eric had always taken care of me, and not doing the same thing would be like betraying that trust.

"This will change everything, Sookie."

That night we made love in front of the fireplace. We got to clean it up and use the little wood stored, and it was one of the most romantic nights of my life. We didn't use the bed, but none of us seemed to care.

I had him over me, enjoying his kisses and caresses. Eric is an expert to make you forget even the worst things, and he was proving it to me with each one of his movements. Feeling him inside me was like feeling that I was in another world, that nothing of what surrounded us was real.

"Oh Eric…don't stop…" His thrusts were slow but deep. So deep that I thought he'd break in half. "Don't stop, don't stop…" I whispered in his ear, causing him to keep moving inside me.

"I won't stop, baby, ever." He increased the pace, but it was still slow and romantic. Just what we needed. "I will never get away from you, you already know that." Each word was accompanied by a gentle move that made me moan and groan.

"Don't go. Never go."

* * *

**Bill POV**

"Tell me their names." We had an amazing day, and although at first I felt uncomfortable watching what they were doing, I soon realized that it was killing or be killed. The survival of the fittest.

"Why?" To celebrate it, Madden invited me to his office, and we toasted for a well done job. The bourbon flowed down my throat, burning me, but providing me with a relaxing feeling at the same time. "I abandoned them, they mean nothing to me anymore. They'll be dead somewhere, or maybe infected. Either way, I don't care."

"You don't care for the girl either?" Victor served me a little more, and I drank it in one gulp.

"She's a bitch." I answered reluctantly. "She was hot, yeah, but too rebellious. I wouldn't have been able to dominate her." That, and the kick in my balls, was what irritate me the most.

"We have methods here to tame women, Bill, you know that." Yeah, but would work with Sookie? "And we could also take care of him. He treated you like crap, don't you want revenge?"

"I could have killed him in his sleep," I hissed. "But I needed him to survive. So I left him alive. He was an asshole, but he knew what he was doing. Unlike the rest of crazy people I met, he knew to cope, and that was reason enough to go with him."

"We could bring them both, Bill. The girl for you, and you could get your revenge with her, what do you say? Sounds like a good plan."

"It's a good plan," I admitted, putting the glass down on the table, "but it won't work because they'll be far away from here. It'd be almost impossible to find them. Besides, he's not stupid, and he'll know someone is following him. He's strongly armed, and although I stole him a gun, I know he has many more weapons. And the girl knows how to defend herself, I am living proof of that."

"We could find them, as we found you, Bill. We are very good at what we do."

I told Madden that I'd think on his offer. I was too drunk to make a decision, and Lorena was waiting for me in bed, so it was time to end the night.

"Think on it, Bill. I don't usually do such good deals, much less without asking for anything in return, but if you think this guy doesn't deserve a lesson, it's just up to you. I won't force you to make a decision, nor go out to find two strangers, endangering my men lives, but if you change your mind…"

"I'll think on it, Victor. Good night."

I walked from one side to another until I got to my room, and as I expected, Lorena was already there. Naked and lying on my bed.

"Hello, sweetheart. I thought you were going to make me wait all night." Her seductive words made me feel better instantly, so I got into bed, and enjoyed the company of a woman who knew what to do.

* * *

**That was all.**

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**:K**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi there,**

**New chapter.**

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**:K**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

* * *

**Eric POV**

Opening my eyes and seeing the inside of the cottage bathed in sunshine, I couldn't help but smile. For a few seconds I forgot about everything and focus only on Sookie. She slept peacefully beside me, wrapped up in the blanket, and embracing me. It was perfect, and all I could hear outside was the birdsong.

I was sure the bed was more comfortable than the one we had improvised last night, but it was cold and we were soaked. The fireplace was the best option.

I wished with all my heart that we could stay forever. It was safe, and that's something you can't find easily these days. So I wanted to stay, forget the Jeep for a good while, and lead a fairly normal life. Sookie deserved it, and what the hell? So do I.

"Eric…" Was she awake or just dreaming? Even so, I replied.

"I'm here, baby." I kissed her shoulder. She grinned, and continued sleeping. I got up from the floor, tucked her in, and put on my pants.

There was water everywhere, so it had to have rained overnight. At least the water got rid of the dried blood in the car. The exterior was calm, and there was no trace of zombies. There wasn't an area where they could feed, and that played in our favor. Hopefully, they wouldn't return here, and if they did, we'd be prepared.

"Good morning," I felt Sookie's arms hugging me from behind, feeling her bare breasts against my back. "You couldn't sleep?" She kissed my shoulder, and I turned around to be face to face.

"I don't usually sleep much, that's all." I kissed her gently on the lips, and held her tighter against my chest. "Although I could get used with you next to me."

"Look…" She pointed to the window and we saw a bird on a tree branch. Singing happily. "It's beautiful, and so out of place with what's going on…"

"And it can fly…go away from here. Fleeing anywhere." I whispered, covering her with a blanket. "Perhaps we can also do it someday. Leave everything behind…"

"I'd love to." Although she dazzled me with a smile, I knew she was sad 'cause we couldn't be completely safe. Yeah, it depressed me too to think on it. "Maybe someday we can have that little house we talked about."

"Maybe."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Are you sure you don't need help?" It was the fifth time Sookie asked me since I climbed the tree. I was trying to see beyond, checking we were alone. "You could fall and…"

"Sookie, I'm fine, don't worry. I used to do this when I was a kid." It'd been so long, but I think I was still pretty good at it. "I see nothing. That's good news."

"Yes, it is. Now get down, please." I laughed at her, she looked so scared. "We should explore a little, to check we're really alone. And find food or water, something." I put my arm around her shoulders, we headed back to the cottage.

"We'll leave it for tomorrow, it's not smart to get too far when we don't know the area." Maybe this place would have possibilities after all. Of course I didn't tell Sookie, I didn't want to jinx it. We needed the luck now more than ever. "Besides, we still have enough food and water to resist a few months. And we can always take the Jeep and make a quick trip to some town. We might even find a gas station lost in the road that hasn't still been sacked."

"It's dangerous, Eric."

"I know, but I'll be careful, you know always am. Also, it'll be easier if you come with me. Watching my back."

"Of course I'll go." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't think you're getting rid of me so easily."

The days passed and we relaxed. For the first time we felt safe although we were in the woods. It was weird to walk under the sunlight without fearing of being attacked, but I guess luck was finally smiling to us. Now we just needed it to last long enough.

"I don't care to wash with cold water, Eric, I really don't." But I had seen the way she trembled every time she got out of the shower.

"Sookie, we could have hot water and…"

"Yes, but we'd have to use the gas drums for it. Eric, it's important that we have the car always ready, just in case. Hot water is a luxury, and I don't care for it." Our first argument. I never imagined it'd be for this.

"We have enough gas, Sook, and the heater is not very big. I just want you can shower properly at least once a week."

"I don't need luxuries, Eric!" She insisted again, and left the room, slamming the door.

"Fucking great, Northman…" I muttered, dropping myself to the ground.

I only meant that our time here was easier, but now things were worse than before. Sookie would probably be furious at me, and there was not much I could do about it, other than apologize to her. I wanted to, but it'd be better to give her a little time for her to calm down.

We were used to cold, heat, rain, and any other thing by now, but that didn't mean we couldn't take advantage of the opportunities that presented to us.

That heater might work, I was sure, but it'd need a good amount of fuel to do so. Maybe Sookie was right, and we should be cautious.

I knocked on the door but got no answer.

"Sookie, can I come in?" Again the silence for answer. "I know you're mad at me, and I'm sorry, but please open the door so we can talk." The door wasn't locked up, I could have walked into if I wanted but I preferred to do things right.

"Baby, I hate fighting with you, and although it's been the first time, I didn't like at all. I don't want us to fight, Sookie, 'cause I care for you, and you're the woman of my life." I chuckled, but it was true. "I'm not trying to… Please, I just need you to forgive me. I need you to show me that dazzling smile of yours, and tell me that everything is gonna be okay."

I walked away from the door to return to the living room, but Sookie's voice stopped me.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Eric." I was going to hug her, when she stopped me. "But I still think we shouldn't waste fuel."

"I understand, and I think you're right."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "Are you saying it so I shut up?" I chuckled and hugged her to me. "No, Sookie. You're right, after thinking on it I realized my idea was stupid. Do you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive, Eric." She muttered, but I had seen how angry she was with me.

"I think there is." I looked at her, brushing her hair off from her face, and saw she'd been crying. "We're a team, and one of us decision shouldn't be above the other. We've done everything agreeing with each other, and I haven't kept that promise this time. So I apologize, Sookie, and I hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you, Eric."

"Thank you." I kissed her cheek, and pulled out some chocolate. "I had brought this if I needed to convince you."

"There was no need," she replied, laughing. "But I'll take it. You know it's my weak point."

Sookie's forgiveness and a good sex session in bed. We were happy again, even having to shower with cold water.

"How is possible no one has found this place before?" I kept stroking her soft skin, but she was right. Were we the first ones? "I can't believe it's been abandoned for so long. It's a little weird."

"Yeah, but we were lucky to get here, so no further questions." I began kissing her, slowly at first, until Sookie pulled away from me. I thought she was in no mood, but then surprised me by straddling my lap, and pushing me against the mattress. "We don't have to do anything if you're in no mood…"

"Shut up, Eric." She snapped, but was still grinning at me. "You know what I want." I hoped she'd do it slowly, but none of that. Sookie impaled herself against me, introducing my penis inside of her in a single motion. We both remained motionless for a few seconds, enjoying the pressure of our bodies.

"Sookie…God…" I grabbed her hips, and began guiding her movements. Slow at first, and increasing the pace a few moments later. "You're perfect."

"You've made me perfect…"

Moans, screams, and more moans. They were the sounds that filled the silence of the cabin and the surrounding area. Just us and the dark. A couple of candles were the only light, and it was romantic. Like a post-sex scene in a movie. Unless the zombies ruled the world now.

"What are you thinking?" I always felt much better feeling her warm body against mine, and the problems seemed less complicated by her side. "You're handsome when you wrinkle the forehead."

"I was thinking how happy I am when we're like this. You and me alone, without Bill Compton." I muttered, chuckling. "It seemed he always interrupted the best moments, don't you think? Like our first kiss." I'd have chosen a more romantic atmosphere, but I guess the timing was right. "I've never met a girl like you, Sookie, and I've never felt good with the women I dated. They all saw me as a passing diversion, but nothing more."

"I find it hard to believe, Eric. You are every girl's dream, and I…" Was she blushing?

"You what?" I loved seeing the blush on her cheeks. She still had a certain innocence that most of us who were still alive had lost long time ago. "C'mon, now I have to know, Sookie. You can't leave me with this intrigue…" She laughed, but I was serious.

"You would never have noticed someone like me, Eric." And she shrugged. "People treated me as inferior just because of my job. Men noticed me were real pigs, and when they looked at me…I…" I didn't know all the details, but I felt that it wasn't a nice story. "Just looking into their eyes and I could imagine what they were thinking. My Gran said it was a kind of gift, but I never believed her."

"Maybe that has been what has kept you alive all this time, don't you think?"

"I had never thought about it, but you may be right. I never let myself go by what others did or said. I had my own way, and I didn't like get out of it. Maybe everything was going against me, but I didn't care what people might think of me." I wish I'd kept that attitude being a teen. "Maybe it wasn't the best way to make friends, but at least it was still me."

"I would have felt flattered if you had glanced at me…"

"I'm here now, Eric, and I'll look at you every time you ask me." Seeing her smile was already more than enough.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It wasn't daytime yet when I walked into the porch. I don't know why I did – perhaps because of the fresh air – but I went outside. I hadn't a lot of opportunities to enjoy the breeze of the night without fearing of being attacked. Breathing deeply helped me to relax, and feeling a little better.

I felt safe in this place, and I wanted to stay forever. But would there be a forever to us?

I heard the creak of the door, and Sookie sat down next to me on the step. She was wearing my t-shirt, and wrapped up in the blanket. "I woke up and you weren't in bed."

"Didn't mean to scare you, but I wanted to get out. Enjoy some quiet…"

"Yeah, it's comforting to experience the calm again. We've been through so much…it's a miracle we're still sane." She breathed deeply, hugging her knees to her chest. "It's so weird to not be afraid for once. It's like living in the past again, but with a difference."

"Which one?"

"I'm not alone. And that's new to me." I hated she had suffered so much in her life.

"You'll never be."

"Do you realize you're the most charming and sweet man I've ever known?" Sweet and charming? Two adjectives I'd never have used to define myself, but in Sookie's lips made me feel special. "You're all that I expected to find in a man, but I never thought I'd be so lucky."

"I'm the lucky one, Sookie, I found you. You're the first woman who doesn't look at me like a piece of meat."

"You're much handsome than a piece of meat…"

* * *

**Bill POV**

"No, please…!" Moans, yells, and cries. It was all I could hear through the other side of the door. Madden and a couple of his men were dealing with the new women, so they'd be as docile as the rest soon.

"Well, I thought you'd be having fun with Lorena, or sleeping. What are you doing here, Bill?"

"I… Why do you do it?" I was curious. "How many women do you need here? Don't you have enough already?"

"Do you think is a problem?" His attitude was menacing, but I wouldn't let it to affect me. "You know what we do here, Bill. You've known from the beginning, and still accepted to stay with us." Not that I had many more options. Walking out there? I wouldn't have lasted five minutes. "If you're not comfortable, you can leave. No one will stop you."

"Leave?" I asked, chuckling. "Would you give me a vehicle, weapons and supplies? Because I won't go out there unprepared." Madden may let me stay here, but I was under his command. "I've already lived that life, and I don't want to repeat the experience."

The tension relaxed as he laughed. "We're all friends here, Bill. No need to fight."

"AHHHHHH!"

"Is it necessary to torture them?" I didn't treat women as equals – they are not – but I think mistreat them is too much. "Most of them are afraid, they'll do what you want, but…"

"But what, Bill? Do you think there's another way?" I shrugged. I didn't have an answer. "I'm open to suggestions. If you believe there's a better way to control them, then go ahead." He opened the door and I saw a woman chained to a wall. "It's your opportunity."

I walked into the room, and waited for everyone else to leave. I wouldn't do this in public. Furthermore, they could hear from outside.

"What's your name?"

She kept crying, and trembling. She was about thirty years or so, pale skin and dark hair.

"What is your name?"

"A…Amy…" Her sobs were all that could be heard when neither of us spoke. "What…what are you going to do to me?" Her blue eyes were irritated and sore. "If you're gonna kill me, you better do it now 'cause I won't be a whore for you all."

"What makes you think that?" She chuckled, but didn't stop glaring at me.

"I'm not stupid. You killed the men who were with us, even teenagers. I know what you do here, and I know I won't become one of them. As much as you try, I won't be like them. I've not survived this hell to end up being used like a common whore." She had guts, I admit it. "You don't look like them."

"I am not, I just joined them."

"Why?" The chains no longer made noises. She was quieter. More…relaxed. "You want to be like them? A monster?" She still had her clothes on, but torn and dirty. "They are nothing but cowards! The kill the men because they know they would have defended us having the chance. They're just murderers and rapists. They prey on the weak 'cause they would have nothing to do against the one of us who know how to defend ourselves."

"You're brave, guess that's why you're still alive." I walked back and forth, trying to make a decision. "You did not try to defend yourself or escape in the town. Why?" I didn't know the reason, but I was interested in hearing her answer.

"One woman against more than a dozen armed men. Do you think I'd have managed?" If something I had learned from Madden and his men, was that they had no scruples or mercy. "I didn't like the idea of ending with a shot to my head, and I thought at least this way I would have a chance to stay alive, and escape. Eventually."

"They won't let you go." I said no more. It was that simple. Victor Madden was obsessed with his mission to repopulate the planet. "There is no way out."

"There is a way out."

"Would you rather kill yourself than living here? Fucking is not something so horrible, you know?"

"It is, if you have to do it with people you can't stand, or you are forced to. That's not freedom. It's nothing!" She shouted, spitting blood from her cut lip on the ground. "I will not be treated like an animal."

"What if you have no choice?"

"Like I said before, there's a way out."

I released her chains, and freed her. She fell to the ground – weakened by the lack of water and food – and got out. I left her there, alone, and no one came to open the door again. Guess they would do sooner or later, but I'd not be there to see it.

"You know she'll rebel at the first opportunity." I heard Madden's voice before turning the corner. "She's stronger than the rest, and won't give up although you believe she will. Her words… She was just trying to deceive you, like they all do at first. They say they'll be good, but it's not true. Deep down they're all the same, and try to deceive us with their twisted minds."

"I want her to stay with me." I had no idea why I said those words. "No one else will touch her. Just me, okay?" Victor looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if he suspected something. "Since I'm here I haven't asked for anything, and I've done what you ordered me. I've gone hunting with you and the guys, so you owe me."

The smile on his face was creepy, but I wouldn't change my mind. "What does she have to make you lose your mind? In just ten minutes she dominated you, Bill. That's not a good sign."

"She doesn't dominate me. I'm just curious, but I'm sure it won't last forever." Amy was different, I could see in her eyes. "I just want a woman who hasn't yet been dominated, that's all. Since I arrived I've been with some of them, but they already know what to do. This one is different, she still has no idea."

"Very good." He said no more. "She's all yours. But I warn you that it won't be easy, and I don't want trouble."

* * *

**Sookie POV**

I don't know what happened to me, but two nights after Eric came out to the porch to get some fresh air, I did the same.

I got out alone, without waking him up, and sat down on the step, with his jacket around my body. I loved that it smelled like him. It made me feel good, and protected. However, none of that helped me when I began mourning. Tears filled my eyes, and rolled down my cheeks without any control.

Why the hell was I crying?

For the first time in months everything was fine. Eric and I are together, safe in a cabin lost in the forest, and the hope of a new life. Everything is perfect, and yet I feel like an idiot for crying in the middle of the night.

I tried to stop, repeating to myself that was enough, but I wasn't able to manage. I didn't want to get in and keep crying because I knew Eric would wake up, and I didn't want to talk about it. He'd think I'm crazy to be sad when all goes well. People don't cry when their lives start to make sense, and the last thing I wanted was to be that kind of girl.

"Sookie?"

I wiped my tears the best I could, but I knew he'd realize that I was crying.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I was trying my voice sounded as normal as possible, but he wouldn't buy it. "I needed fresh air, and… I've been out here for a few minutes. I was going to get back soon."

"You're cold," he whispered, picking up one of my tears with the back of his hand. "Come on, let's go back inside." He picked me up in his arms like a child, and I felt safe.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" I broke the silence when he got into bed, and held me against him.

"You want to talk about it?" Answering with another question was not what I expected. "I know you were crying, Sookie, but if you don't wanna talk about it, it's okay. I won't push you to tell me."

"Just the fact that you give me space, makes me want to tell you about it. But I'm afraid you think I'm crazy, and…"

"Sookie, you're not crazy." Was he laughing? Had I said something funny or amusing? "We live in a crazy world, baby, and I think we are the sanest around here."

"There's nobody here, Eric."

"Exactly."

We laughed like two fools, and it was just what I needed to feel a little better. Eric always made everything easier than it looked, and said there's always a way to fix the problems.

"I think it was a panic attack." I confessed when I stopped laughing. "I dunno, I've been so tense that I guess I needed to get rid of everything somehow. I don't know why, I just started crying, and couldn't stop. I felt like a fool, and I didn't want you to see me like that, so I got out."

"You needed to be alone?" Did I need it? "If you'd asked me, I would have given you more space."

"I spent six months alone, locked up in a store, and watching the outside from a tiny window. It wasn't exactly the paradise, but it kept me safe." I had told him a few things about that time, but not everything. "At first I thought it'd be temporary, until the doctors or scientists, even the cops, found a way to fix what was happening. But time passed and passed, and when I realized I had been there for a month, and things had gotten worse outside so it seemed safer to stay locked up." It felt good talking about it, share my pain and experience with other person.

"Did you ever think about killing yourself and end with all?"

That kind of question would have scandalized me months ago, when the world was a real world.

"Yeah. But not because I was alone or desperate." Eric waited patiently while I felt strong enough to remember those days. It seemed another person's life, but it was my life until I was rescued by Eric Northman. "I thought to resist as long as possible was the best option, but I also made a decision."

"Which one?"

"I wouldn't become one of them, Eric. That was clear from the beginning. I saw what infected people did. I saw them chasing the humans, and devour them. And then I saw these humans who were attacked, getting up and behaving like the zombies. It was then that I decided to never be one of them. If they got in, if they reached me and there was no way out, I'd save a bullet for me, and everything would be over."

"It looks a lot like my decision, don't you think?" Yeah, it's true. "Luckily neither of us had to do."

"Maybe it was fate." I mumbled, snuggling even closer to his side. "Perhaps we had to meet each other, and start a new journey together." I kissed his chin, and leaned my head on his chest.

"I've never believed in fate."

"Really? I have. Fate brought me out of that store, and meeting you. What else could it have been?"

"You're right. It was fate."

* * *

**That was all.**

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	10. Chapter 10

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* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Bill POV**

"What are we doing here?" I went back to the "torture room" and freed Amy. I told her she would be safe with me, and I took her to my room. "I won't sleep with you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Why do you think that?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We are in your bedroom, with a huge bed. What else do you want me to think?" She shrugged, but she couldn't be more wrong. "I know what they, your friends, were going to do with me. They will probably doing the same with the rest of women, while I'm here, with my _savior_. Now tell me, what do you really expect from me?"

"What is your surname?"

"Why do you care?" A woman with character, and yet I didn't want to slap her.

"I just want to know. I want to know you."

She approached me, enough to look at my eyes, but keeping the distance. "Burley. That's my surname."

"Burley. I like it." I smiled, but she didn't smile back. "Are you always so defensive?" I walked away from her, sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Only when I'm kidnapped, tortured, and almost raped." She replied dryly. "The rest of time I'm lovely."

"I saved you." Why Amy couldn't understand?

"Yeah, you did." She was leaning against the wall next to the window, without moving a muscle. "But you didn't for your heart's goodness, Bill. You have a selfish reason, like all your friends, and eventually will come to light. You are a man who has become a monster, and as much as you fight it, in the end you'll let that primitive part of you to dominate you completely."

"You don't know me…" I hissed, but didn't move from the bed. "You know nothing about me!"

"The fact that you don't help the rest of women makes it quite clear the kind of man you are. You saved me, so what? How long will your protection last? Is it forever or have an expiration date?" She started walking to the other end of the room, but didn't try to get out at any time. "That's the difference between you and me. I fought to help others without asking for anything in return, but Victor Madden and his guys are ruthless murderers who would not hesitate to kill me to get what they want. And they'll do the same to you."

"You don't know Victor, why do you think he will?"

"Because I can see it in his eyes." She said no more, as if it were obvious. "Call me crazy if you want, but sooner or later Victor Madden will explode, and then all of us, without exception, will pay the consequences."

That night, with Amy beside me in bed, I thought on what she said about Victor. Her words kept me from sleep. Did she just want to get me in a bad mood?

I knew Amy wouldn't allow me to control her, and she'd do whatever in her power to help others. It was totally against what we did here, but I couldn't help but wonder if she'd be right about Madden.

The guy always remained calm, cold as ice. Nothing affected him, and no one stood in his way or plans.

"Why do you doubt of him?" I knew she didn't sleep even if she tried to pretend she did. Amy didn't trust me – nothing new – and would remain alert. "We can survive here better than out there. We have a chance."

"A chance to do what?" She snapped, glaring at me despite the darkness. "To have a normal life? To find a good man to marry him and start a family? Is that what you think will happen here?" She got out of bed, still fully clothed, and stood before the window. "Look out there, Bill, and tell me what you see."

I got up and went to her. Some of the guards were drinking beer and shooting guns at the air.

"They're mercenaries. Do you really think they'll respect our decisions?" I wasn't forced into anything, but maybe Amy wasn't wrong. "You'll be lucky because you are a man. They will see you as an equal, but neither I nor the other women will be so lucky. It wouldn't surprise me that some of them committed suicide to escape from this hell. Because this is it, Bill. Maybe you can't see it now, but sooner or later, you'll also be at Victor Madden's mercy."

"You think you're smart, don't you?" In her eyes I could see that she wasn't afraid of me. Threats will not work with her, but maybe violence will. "I could kill you right here, don't forget. And no one would come to your aid. I'm a man, you said it yourself, and here I have all the power over you."

"Kill me, Bill. Kill me and end with my pain and suffering, 'cause I will be more happy being dead than living in hell."

"Would you rather die than have to make a few sacrifices?" I shook my head, unable to believe my ears.

"Sacrifices?" She asked, chuckling. I wanted to slap her, but this woman aroused my curiosity too. "I am convinced that you don't even know the meaning of that word. I've made sacrifices throughout my life, for others who needed my help, or for myself when the situation required. But I've never let others to use me. And I certainly won't start now."

She locked herself in the bathroom, refusing to open the door. It was late and I was tired, so I went back to bed and fell asleep. Amy could stay in there all night if it was what she wanted, but I wouldn't waste any more time.

* * *

**Eric POV**

"These are the last pieces of wood, we'll need more soon. The days are warm, but the nights are still cold. And the storm seems to not want to give a break." I put the pieces by the fireplace, and sat down beside her on the small, old fashioned couch. "I saw an ax in one of the cabinets, so I shall go into the forest to bring more firewood."

"You think it's safe?" She always worried for everything. She's too young to bear such responsibility.

"I won't go away, Sookie. I promise."

"I'd like to go with you. It'll take us less time doing the work together." I held her against me and kissed her forehead. "Also, I don't want to stay here alone. I won't stop thinking about you until you come back, and I'll end up going insane."

"We'll wait until storms give us a break, okay?" It wasn't safe to walk or take the car. We could get stuck in the mud, or having an accident. "Besides, we can always get warm in other way…" I kissed her neck, stroking her belly at the same time. I couldn't stop touching her, enjoying her wonderful body.

"Eric… God, what was that?" We heard a loud knock, and got up quickly.

"Stay behind me." I stood in front of her, and grabbed the gun I had left on the table next to the couch. "Be quiet." We walked together, without turning on the flashlight. If anyone was out there, we needed to be careful. "I'll go to take a look."

"Eric, no. It's dangerous."

"Stay here."

It hadn't rained, but the sky was overcast. The darkness would give me the chance to hide if I needed to. Maybe it was the wind shaking the branches, or a small animal trying to get into the cabin.

"Eric, be careful."

I nodded and opened the door slowly. I took a quick look, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was probably the wind. Because, what else could it be? We hadn't seen zombies since we crossed the woods to get to the cabin, and they weren't as quiet as not to hear them coming.

I could hear the beating of my own heart, so hard, that I thought it was trying to escape from my chest. If the zombies were here, why didn't they appear? That's not like them, they're not so smart 'cause they're dead, like their brains.

With the weapon grasped firmly, I walked stealthily around the cabin. Through the window I could see Sookie with a gun in her hand and bent down beside the couch. I gestured at her with the flashlight, and saw her nod. I kept walking, getting further in the thicket, and looking down at the ground. If there were zombies nearby, their tracks would have been marked in the damp earth of the last days of rain.

"Come out so I can kill you…" I muttered to myself. I heard noise above me, but with the flashlight pointing up I could only see the branches and treetops shaking by the wind. There was nothing, or at least I couldn't see it.

I looked back over my shoulder, and I still could see the cabin. I had gone far enough to see that we weren't in danger, but I still had the feeling that I wasn't alone in the dark. If I didn't believe it, I'd say a ghost was trying to scare me.

The tallest trees prevented me to see the moon and stars. Their dense and bushy tops moved from side to side, allowing me to see small portions of the dark sky, but nothing more.

"Eric!" I turned around quickly to hear Sookie's voice calling me. Would she be in danger?

I ran back to the cabin, feeling the heart in my throat. I wanted to come as soon as possible and make sure she was safe, that everything was fine.

"Eric! Where are you?!"

I didn't think I'd gone so far from the cabin, but I surely lost track of time with each step. I wanted to find something, anything, and that made me go far and far away into the forest.

"Sookie!" I cried, and saw her flashlight moving in the front part of our shelter. "Sookie, I'm here!" She followed the sound of my voice, and a moment later the light blinded me.

"God, Eric! Are you okay?" She ran to me and jumped into my arms. I caught her in the air, and walked us inside. "You said you'd be back soon, and I started to panic when I couldn't find you." Her eyes were tearing up, and tears started rolling down her rosy and warm cheeks. "Where the hell were you?"

"I thought I heard something, and went to take a look." I made sure to lock the door and close the windows. We turned off the flashlights and we were in the dark, sitting down on the floor. "Sorry I scared you, baby, guess I didn't realize how far I was until I heard your voice."

"Did you find anything?" Her choked voice let see she hadn't still recovered from the shock. "Have you seen any zombie?"

"No. There's nothing out there." I hugged her tightly – she wasn't the only one scared – and didn't let her go at any time. "I think I'm getting a little paranoid, Sook, that's all."

"I was already paranoid before this started, so it's nothing to me." I couldn't help it and started laughing. "But I was scared to death when I looked out the window and didn't see you. I thought…God, I can't even say it out loud."

"I'm okay, baby, I'm okay."

We laid on bed, but neither of us could sleep that night, so we stayed hugged to each other in silence. I kept looking at the ceiling, trying to relax enough to forget the pain throughout my body. So much stress was starting to get at me.

"Are you okay?" Sookie whispered to me. "Eric, what's up?" I wanted to answer, but the words didn't cooperate with me. "Look at me." She leaned on her elbow and stared at me. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I can't get to relax." She stroked my cheek, and seemed to work, but when she stopped touching me I felt tense again. "I don't know what's wrong, but don't worry. You sleep, get some rest. I'll get over it."

"I think I can help you."

She forced me to lay face down, and began massaging my back. I felt much better at the touch of her hands against my skin. "Oh God, this is…great. Where did you learn to do this?"

"Practice." She continued massaging the key points, and I was getting more and more relaxed. "Are you feeling better? I'm no expert, nor do I have an official masseuse license, so…"

"You're doing an excellent job, Sookie." I cut her off. Why was she so insecure sometimes? She's the bravest person I've ever met, and I don't think I could have endured being locked up as long as she did. Alone, with no way out, and hopeless. "You could have worked at this, instead of being a waitress."

"Yeah, I'd have liked, but I didn't have much money to pay for the course, and working at the bar I earned enough to live. Tips were greater the shorter my pants were. And if I showed enough cleavage, then they were mesmerized with my breasts, and they weren't aware of the bills left on the table." She laughed, but I don't think she thought it was funny. "It was a shitty life, but it was my life."

"Were you happy?" She stopped, and stood up from my thighs. I thought I had offended her with my question, but sitting beside me on the mattress, I saw her smiling.

"I think so. Despite everything, I was still happy. I had friends, a job, and an apartment. It wasn't much, but I've never needed many luxuries to be happy."

"I lived with a girl for three months, but it didn't work."

"Why?" Was she really interested in my sad story? I hesitated, and she laughed. "Come on, I told you my story, I'd like to hear yours."

I turned around, and leaned on my elbow, watching her. "At first all went well, we had a good living and I believed it'd last forever. She was the first woman that looked at me like an ordinary man, and not someone you would take home one night to get laid. Guess that's what attracted me to her, she was honest with me."

"Sounds like a good girl. Why didn't work?"

I sighed heavily, trying to answer a question I had wondered too many times. "Honestly?" Sookie nodded, and I kept thinking on it. "I think she got tired of me."

"How is that possible? You're a great guy, Eric, any woman would be lucky to have you." She stroked my cheek, and down my jaw with her finger until she touched my lips.

"One day I came home and saw her gathering her things." I said no more. "There isn't really a lot more to tell. I asked her why, and she only shrugged. She looked at me for a few seconds, and then went back to what she was doing. I dunno, I was probably a jerk with her, so she got tired of me."

"You're not a jerk, Eric. And if she left, I'm sure she had her reasons, but you can't blame yourself for everything." I never imagined I'd talk about it again when the zombies took the absolute control. With so many problems it was stupid to think on a simple breakup. "I don't want to say anything bad about her, but I can't help thinking she was an idiot."

I laughed at Sookie's honest. "You know, I think you're right. For a long time I blamed myself, looking for an explanation. But there was none, and I ended up thinking that I was not the kind of person who knows how to keep a relationship."

"We have a relationship, Eric." I was about to protest, but Sookie wouldn't let me. I could see it in her beautiful blue eyes. "It may not be in the best circumstances," and she chuckled, "but it's a relationship after all. We're two adults who have found something they never knew they were looking for."

"I think I was looking for you." I said no more, keeping her laughing. God, I loved to see her happy. "And I had to make the first move quickly, before Compton won me."

"Believe me, Compton would never have won." We both laughed now. "I dunno, I've met many men like him, and I have never been attracted to them. Bill was no exception, and when he looked at me…" She frowned, as if something was bothering her.

"What?"

"It's silly."

"Tell me." I insisted.

She doubted. Why was she doubting? Couldn't be so bad; I never let Bill to put a hand on her.

"There was something in his eyes that screamed 'careful', like an alarm. I don't know, I've always trusted my instincts, and decided to keep doing it." She bowed her head. Embarrassed? There was nothing for her to feel ashamed.

"Sookie…"

"People like him – especially men – always assured me that I was clearly under them." I wanted to say that they were just stupid, but I kept with my mouth shut. "I didn't let their comments to affect me, but many nights when I got home, I couldn't help bursting into tears. I cried and cried until I fell asleep or my head hurt so bad that I was no longer able to shed more tears."

"Sookie, I'm so sorry." But she stopped me with a wave of her hand. "It's not your fault, Eric. No need to apologize for other people actions and comments." She bowed her head down again, but I wouldn't remain silent this time.

"Do you know why some people need to believe they're superior to others?" Sookie did not respond, not even gesturing. "Deep down they're weak and are as scared as the rest of us. Their way of defense is attacking those who believe they are beneath them, but they're just as lost as you and me."

"I used to think the stick up their asses pressed their brains too." We laughed until my stomach hurt, and my eyes filled with tears.

"I think it's a good way to explain it. And you're probably right." Sookie shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. Nothing really matters, just to stay alive."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to do this, Eric. I don't even know what I'm doing." Sookie grabbed the ax tightly, so stronger that her hands were shaking. "Why don't you do it? I'm a total useless."

"You're not useless, and you're doing great." I placed another log on the stump, and pulled away so she could cut it. "I know you can do it, so trust yourself a little bit."

"Okay…" she muttered reluctantly, but raised her arms up above her head, and with one single move cut the wood.

"Very good!" I took her in my arms, and kissed her passionately. All this after dropping the ax on the ground, of course. We didn't want to suffer an unfortunate accident. "I told you that you could do it."

"Y'kno, I feel good, very good." It was clear the fresh air, and be able to relax, were two things that were doing wonders to us. "I love this place."

"Me too, and I hope we can stay forever."

I was serious, this place had many possibilities, and since we were here we hadn't seen a single zombie. They might show up at any time, but I didn't want to jinx our luck by saying it out loud.

"Are you hungry?" She nodded vigorously, and went back to the little cabin. It wasn't much, but it had become our home. "We should prepare something special to celebrate today."

"Really? I just cut a log in half, it was nothing." I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she giggled like a schoolgirl. "Not that I've found a cure for a mortal virus."

"Jokes about the apocalypse," I replied, chuckling. "That's new. And then you'll tell me that zombies are driven by cables, like the Muppets." If we couldn't take things with humor, then the whole world would go straight to hell, and the two of us with it.

"Muppets? Really?"

"What?" I asked, pretending to be offended. "I loved them. They were dolls that came on TV, and also appeared with celebrities, what else could you ask for?"

"And you didn't think it was a little odd that a piggy was in love with a frog?" She gave me a raised eyebrow, but I shook my head, without believing we were discussing about the Muppets. "Come on Eric, it was a little weird. Even you have to admit it. Because, how did they make love? Or where? I don't think they chose a bed, and a frog wouldn't have felt comfortable doing it in the mud."

"You know, they're good questions." I said seriously, scratching my chin.

"Are you really thinking on it?" Sookie had to sit down on the couch when she was bent with laughter. "But I'd like to know how a frog and a piggy would have do it, really." We then laughed again. God, it was so good to forget about all the problems, even for a few minutes. "I'm sure National Geographic would do a story with that."

"And you think they'd be lucky to shoot a couple of pictures?" I asked, eyes wide open, and grinning until my cheeks hurt.

Madness after madness. We hung out until the food was ready. It was nice to be able to joke again, although anyone else who would have heard us would've thought we were crazy.

"Do you think there will be others around?" She asked me suddenly. "Survivors? If we followed this path, maybe other people did too.

"I don't know, we haven't seen many people for the last months. If there are more survivors they'll be likely hidden." And I didn't like the idea of someone else found about us. I knew from experience that people can change their attitude when it comes to survival. "I don't think we should worry about it, baby."

"Well, I've thought about it, and I believe we should be prepared if it happens." I stopped what I was doing, and focused only on her.

"What do you mean, Sookie?" I had a vague idea, but I preferred we both were agreed.

"To survive, Eric." She replied, shrugging. "I learnt from Bill, and I know there will be many others out there that will not hesitate to attack us, or let us die, to keep going. Humans have lost what little humanity we had, and without it we're no better than zombies."

"Then it better no one comes looking for us, don't you think?" I smiled at her, and she smiled back at me. "We'll be ready, Sookie, for whatever comes after us. And I will fight until the end."

"I will fight next to you."

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.**

**:K**


	11. Chapter 11

**I had the whole weekend to work on this couple of chapters, so I'm posting them right now.**

**Thanks a lot for reading and reviewing.**

**:K**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

* * *

**Sookie POV**

There was something out there. I could hear strange noises at night, even when Eric said I was just imagining things. Rain had abandoned us a few days before, and the wind wasn't strong so the branches of the trees didn't hit the cabin windows.

"Looking for a ghost again?" I smiled to hear him behind me.

I thought I had gotten out of bed without waking him. I was careful not to bump into anything, and walked slowly so not to crack the wood floor. I wasn't going to get out, I just stood in front of the window, looking outside.

"You think I'm paranoid?" I didn't look at him, I just stood there, with Eric behind me. "Because I still believe there's something out there. I don't believe it's a zombie 'cause it hasn't attacked us yet, but maybe…"

"Sookie, I looked everywhere. There is no one. It was probably an animal, nothing more." I wanted to believe him, I really do, but I couldn't. "Why don't we go back to bed?"

"You go, I can't sleep." My instinct – the same I had trusted in several times – kept telling me that I was doing the right thing to believe something was happening. "I'm fine, Eric. No need for you to stay here with me."

"I can't sleep if you're not by my side, you know." I felt his lips kissing my neck, and I closed my eyes automatically.

"That's blackmail…" I mumbled, as his lips kissed me more and more softly. God, would I ever get tired of this? No, of course not. "Don't stop…" His hands moved around my waist, slowly getting up the shirt Eric gave me to sleep in. I felt him stroking my thighs, tracing circles on the inside, until his fingers found the area I desperately wanted him to touch me. "Please…"

"Please, what?" I knew he was grinning 'cause his lips curved over my neck.

"Touch me, Eric. Please, touch me."

One of his fingers parted my folds, to enter inside me a few seconds later. But it wasn't all he was doing. His other hand stroked my breasts, my nipples hardening with each gentle movement of his fingers.

"Oh God…Eric…" His name was all I could utter, and I kept doing it over and over again when he increased the pace. "Don't stop…Eric…please…"

I was so close that I could even taste it. I was about to when Eric suddenly stopped.

"Why did you stop?" I demanded. I didn't want to yell, but wasn't able to control myself. "Eric, I was so close…"

"Believe me, baby, I'm not done with you. Not a bit." Before keeping protesting he picked me up, and put me against the wall. My legs curled around his waist automatically, waiting for the action to start.

"Fuck me, Eric…" I hissed, and felt him entering me hard. "Oh yes! Yes! Don't stop…" This time it wasn't slow and romantic. It was rough. Just what we both needed.

"Keep going, Eric! Harder!" His thrusts would leave me sore, I'm sure, but I didn't care in the slightest. "Oh God, don't stop…"

"OH YES!" Orgasm hit me hard, and I almost passed out, but Eric took me in his arms and carried me to the bed. "It…it's been amazing…"

"Hope I wasn't pretty rough." He whispered, but I could only respond laughing. "Ask me tomorrow when I try to walk."

"Sorry, baby, I think I let myself go for a bit. But you were so tense…I just wanted to help you relax."

"It worked."

I slept soundly for the rest of the night, but waking up I saw Eric wasn't beside me on bed. The sun coming through the window, but it was late. I usually opened my eyes at dawn, but maybe Eric was right, and I was so tense that I wasn't even able to sleep.

Eric may have made me forget the stress, but I still thinking that something weird was happening. Last night – before Eric attacked me by surprise – I heard strange noises. Noises that had nothing to do with the wind or animals.

"Good morning." Eric was already dressed when I walked into the kitchen.

"Hi." I hugged him tightly and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"You were very pretty sleeping, and you were so tired last night after…" I blushed at the memory. "It was a new experience for us, don't you think?" I buried my head in his chest, embarrassed.

"I…I had a great time." I muttered, without looking at his face.

"Sookie, look at me." I didn't move, but I knew he'd force me to. I gave up when I felt his hand under my chin, and looked into his eyes. "Are you ashamed?" Not really, but I was nervous. "Baby, never be ashamed of something you enjoy."

"I don't," I answered quickly. "It was awesome," and giggles were stronger than me. "I never…you know, let alone against a wall."

"Then I had the honor to be your first?" His arched eyebrow, and his grin made him look much younger. As if suddenly I could see the real Eric, the person he was before all this madness started. "What is it?"

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head and smiling. "What do you say if we go out to explore a little bit? We may find some town and get some supplies." Eric nodded, and after breakfast, we left on foot. We wouldn't get far, but we took all the weapons with us.

"This place is beautiful." And of course it was. I always loved nature. "You know, I think if I had enough money I'd have built a house in the forest," he said, grinning. "To escape from the city and traffic. Especially traffic." Yeah, it was something we hadn't to worry about anymore."

We walked holding hands, like a couple of lovers in a romantic stroll. Only the protagonists were completely armed. I laughed as quietly as possible at my own joke.

"What's so funny?" Eric asked me, squeezing my hand lightly.

I shook my head, still laughing. "It's silly, really. I was thinking how surreal our situation is." He looked at me confused, and I quickly explained. "I feel like I'm walking with my boyfriend, like nothing happened, but then I look down at my hand and see that we carry guns." It was still funny.

"I feel like a superhero…" I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Why do all men with a gun see themselves as superheroes? "I kill the bad guys, save the world, and get the girl." He added, shrugging. "I think I'm a real superhero."

"Y'know, I think you're right." We kept talking and laughing, until Eric stopped.

"What is it?" He nodded forward, and then I saw it. A car, but it was covered in dirt and grime.

"We'll move carefully and in silence, okay?" He whispered, and I nodded several times without saying a word.

Eric started walking without his feet making a noise, and I tried to imitate him, but it wasn't easy. If there was anyone closer we'd surprise him. Although, by the looks of the car, it seemed abandoned. Maybe someone ran out of gas and decided to continue on foot.

"Get down beside the car, while I make sure no one is hiding," Eric murmured, and I did what he told me. I had the gun ready just in case, although I hoped I hadn't to use it against another human being.

I leaned over the hood, trying to see Eric, but no luck. He would probably have ventured into the thickest trees. All was quiet, but that wasn't always a good sign. The zombies moved silently, and if you're not careful, they might get you before you knew it.

I was still looking when I stepped on a small tree branch, and scared me to death. "God…calm down, Sookie." I mumbled to myself, trying to stop the quick beatings of my heart. I laughed quietly, thinking that I was getting paranoid, and I'd probably end up scaring of my own shadow.

I peeked over the hood again, but Eric was nowhere to be seen. How long until we left?

And then, on the corner of my eyes, I saw it. I turned my head to the left and my mouth was hanging open. A woman, with her clothes torn and stained with blood, walked toward the vehicle.

My first instinct was to run away, but I'd have betrayed my position. Better to stay where I was. But what if she came towards me to attack me? I gripped the gun tightly, ready to shoot when I realized there was something different about her.

She was not a zombie.

But what the hell was wrong with her? She was staring at nothing, and walked as if she didn't know where to go.

I was torn between letting her to see me or remain hidden until she passed by. But what if she was hurt? Or lost? Or both? Shouldn't I help her?

I got up slowly and quietly, but she didn't look at me. Maybe she didn't realize there was someone else.

"Hey, are you okay?" She obviously wasn't, but I couldn't think of anything better to say. "If you're hurt, we can help you." The woman stopped, but she never looked at me.

"Can you hear me?" I insisted, but she didn't answer.

I approached her, but keeping the distance, not wanting her to get nervous to see the gun. I was going to speak again, but what could I say? She was traumatized by something, but she kept looking at me.

"I'm Sookie, what's your name?"

I walked a little closer to her, but she kept looking over my shoulder, as if she couldn't see me. I looked back for a second to check that we were alone. What the hell was she looking at? There was nothing around us, except the car.

"Is it yours?" I asked, pointing to the car. "We didn't mean to touch anything, but we were surprised to see it here." I received no answer, but at least this time she looked at me. "Well, better than nothing." I mumbled. "Can you tell me your name?"

Silence.

"Are you hurt? Your…your clothes are stained with blood, and your hair…"

Silence.

"We can help you." I said desperately. "You can come with us…"

"Sookie." I heard Eric's voice, and saw him coming out of the trees. "Stay away from her." I didn't understand anything. "Sookie, do as I say."

"Eric, relax. I think she's hurt." I looked back at the woman in front of me, staring at me now. "We can help you, if you come with us, you'll be safe."

"Sookie!" Eric yelled, but I ignored him. I walked toward the woman, who remained motionless, and I was going to touch her arm when Eric pulled me away from her.

"What are you doing?!" I snapped. "She's hurt and confused, we have to help her. We can't leave her here."

"We can do nothing for her, Sookie. It's too late." He grabbed the gun and pointed it at her head.

"Eric, no!" I tried to let go, but it was impossible.

"Sookie, look at her," he said more calmly. "She's already one of them. She's starting to change."

"No," I said shaking my head, "it's impossible. She's okay, she doesn't move like them, and didn't attack me." I was trying by all means to make him understand that he was wrong. "We have to help her!" Tears began flooding my eyes, but Eric didn't let me go.

"We can't do anything for her anymore, Sookie." And just then, as I was about to protest, the woman changed radically. She began emitting strange and horrifying noises, and moving erratically toward us. "See? She was infected, but the virus will have taken hours to affect her. She has been transforming while she was coming here."

"God…" I had seen a lot of zombies, but I was never present when they transformed. Her skin had darkened to become almost grey. Her eyes were empty, showing the life that was abandoning her, and when I looked again, I saw she had a bite on her neck, and another in her arm.

"We gotta get out of here." Eric put his gun away, and instead grabbed the knife. "I haven't seen others, but she might attract them." I turned around when Eric walked toward her. I didn't want to see it.

I stayed back until I heard the noise of the blade through the skin, and I shivered.

"Are you okay?" I shook my head, unable to speak. "I don't think there are more, but we shouldn't take the risk."

He opened the car door, but I stopped him. "No!" Eric looked at me surprised, but nodded and closed it quietly. "I think it was her car, and it's not right to rummage through her things. I'm sure that's why she was coming here. Perhaps she remembered that she abandoned her car, and returned to find it." The zombies weren't able to remember their existence as humans, let alone drive a car, but maybe some memory gap remained in them during the first hours after transforming.

Eric and I returned quickly to the cabin, sometimes running, until we arrived and closed the door. All was dark and quiet. And although the weather had improved, I was trembling.

"Sookie, everything's alright, okay? There are no zombies, no one followed her." I nodded, but nothing was fine. For a moment I thought I might have helped that woman, I believed it when I saw her, but then I knew that'd be impossible. She, like the rest of people killed by the virus, was doomed from the start. She maybe didn't get the vaccine, who knows, but once the zombies became a plague, it didn't matter anymore.

Most people got infected by the bites from the zombies already transformed, and the process was so fast, that within a few weeks, it became a global epidemic.

"Sookie, you should eat something." I got into bed as soon as we returned, and didn't move from there until it got dark and Eric came to see me. "Baby, I know it's been hard, and it has affected me too, but we couldn't do anything for her. She was doomed long before we found her."

For a few minutes there wasn't anything but silence between us, until I finally turned around and looked at him. "I know, Eric." I mumbled. "But it's hard to face."

"It is, but we will. Together."

"I need you to promise me something." He did not ask, just looked at me. "I don't want to become one of those things, Eric." He was going to interrupt me, but I covered his mouth with my hand. "Listen to me, please." He nodded, and I pulled my hand away. "I would hate knowing that I'm going to become one of them, and I'd hate to be one. I don't want to die and arise like a monster. If I'm gonna die…" The tears were stronger than me, and I began crying. "Eric…if…if I'm gonna die…" I mumbled between sobs. "Don't let me to wake up again, because I'd attack you or any other person."

"You are not going to die, Sookie, nor I either." He hugged me, but it wasn't enough. I needed him to promise me.

"You have to promise me, Eric." I said firmly. "I need to know that you'll put a bullet into my head if I become one of them."

A tear slipped from his eye, his cheek, down to his chin. "I promise you, Sookie."

Neither one of us was in the mood that night, so we laid on bed, fully clothed, and embraced. Looking at each other, kissing every few seconds, and promising that we wouldn't let the other to suffer if we could avoid it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Are you feeling better?" It was still dark when Eric asked me, and my answer was a shrug. "It'll be dawn soon. We should get some sleep."

"I can't sleep." I mumbled. "Every time I close my eyes I see her walking towards me, as if begging me for help. But I can't help her, Eric. You said it yourself, she was doomed long before she found us." Now I understood, but still remembered every second. "It broke my heart to see her in that state. At first, when I believed she was alive, I thought she was covered in dirt because of the blood of others. Never occurred to me to think that it was her own blood, and she was already infected."

"You couldn't know, Sookie." But not even Eric would be able to make me feel better.

"You did know." I said, staring into his eyes. "You did know she was infected from the first moment you saw her. How is it possible?" Eric looked away, but I grabbed his face with both my hands. I wanted to know. "Eric, you can tell me. It can't be worse than what we have already seen."

"I saw many like her before. I saw them when they were still human. I saw them when they were bitten. And I saw them when they transformed. I even had to kill some of them when they got up, and I believe I did the right thing." Yes, he did. "I saw the dead people, and they seemed to be in peace. But seconds, minutes, and hours later, they opened their eyes and moved as something they were not. Guess the ones who died devoured were the lucky ones 'cause they didn't turn into zombies. Their bodies were reduced to pieces, and it was impossible." I wonder if Eric was able to see it without throwing up, because I wouldn't have. "It was tough. It was really tough to see all that, but I stayed next to some of them until they woke up."

"Why?" I asked confused. "You might have been bitten."

"I did it because I saw these people to die, and they didn't deserve to wake up as monsters eager for human flesh." He breathed deeply, and I hugged him tighter. I knew it was very difficult for him to talk about it. "Their fate was in my hands, and I pulled the trigger without hesitation."

"It was all you could have done."

"Like with the woman in the woods." He muttered. "When I saw her so close to you… I thought I was going to lose you. But then I saw your lips moving, and I realized you were talking to her."

"Actually I was talking alone." I said no more. "She never got to answer. Guess she wasn't even able to speak. I tried telling her that I wasn't going to hurt her, and asked her again and again if she was hurt." I snuggled closer to Eric, with the need to feel his warmth. "I told her we found her car, that I thought it was abandoned, but she still stood there and said nothing. She looked over my shoulder, as if looking for something that didn't exist, and…well, the rest is history, I guess." A hard and traumatic one, but history after all.

* * *

**Bill POV**

"Oh yes… Yes!" Lorena's moans filled the room, and although I was having fun with her sitting on me and fucking me, for some reason I couldn't focus. "Bill, where are you?"

"What?"

Lorena sighed, and stood up. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked pissed. "I am here, over you, doing everything possible for you to enjoy, and it seems you're daydreaming." She got up from bed, completely naked, went into the bathroom and slammed the door. What was that about?

"Lorena!" I yelled, but I heard the water running and forgot about it.

I didn't need a whore to tell me what should or shouldn't do, but Lorena was right in thinking that I wasn't myself.

I got up, lit up a cigarette, and looked out the window. It was still dark and the clouds allowed me to see the moon and stars. Some guards laughed sitting down on a large rock, and the rest kept working.

The zombies barely approached the mansion. The guards killed them before they got too close, and the rest of us took care of them when we went hunting.

The bathroom door opened, and I saw Lorena wearing a black silk robe, and walking towards me. "I'll think you're stressed, nervous, or you just don't sleep well last night." She said all that while putting her arms around my waist from behind, and her hands began masturbating me.

"Stop…" I mumbled, but she didn't.

"Come on, Billy, I know how much you like this. How much you enjoy when I touch you…" She kept whispering in my ear while moving her hands, but even though I was enjoying it, I pulled her away from me. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" She hissed, glaring at me. "We have a great time together, don't you think?" She tried touching me again, but I slapped her before she could.

"Are you insane?!" She touched her lip, and blood stained her hand. "You broke my lip, you son of a bitch! How dare you?" She lunged at me, but I stopped her though she was strong. I wouldn't let her to hit me, she had no right after she made me angry.

"Calm down!" I struggled with her, but she didn't seem to surrender. "I told you to calm down!" We fell down on the bed, rolling like we were making love, but not at all. "Don't move! I said don't move!" I pinned her face down on the mattress, but when I didn't realize she turned around, and kneed me in the stomach.

"Bitch!" I hit her again, and she fell to the floor. "God…damn bitch!" I yelled over and over again. "You're going to regret this, I swear. You hear me! You'll regret it!" When I finally got to move – although the pain prevented me to do it the normal rhythm – I got out of bed and saw Lorena on the floor, motionless. "Stop playing the victim, it wasn't so bad."

I walked into the bathroom to clean myself, and hoped Lorena had already gone before I returned to the bedroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I had scratches on my face. "Psycho bitch…" I hissed, repeating that she'd regret it. She would learn a lesson.

I wiped the dried blood off my face, and saw the scratches were not deep. I wouldn't get a scar, but they wouldn't disappear for a few weeks.

"You're crazy!" I shouted, but got no answer.

I wanted to take a shower but I wasn't in the mood. It wasn't dawn yet and I already sensed it'd be a long day. I did not fear someone found out what happened, I didn't need to answer to anyone, but I neither wanted to become a joke 'cause I couldn't stop Lorena in time.

"Guess you don't realize yet, but you made a mistake, and you'll soon regret what you've done." I grabbed clean clothes from the closet and began dressing. "Are you still on the floor?" I chuckled and walked over to her. I would kick her out if I had to. "Get up!"

She didn't move, and I insisted, but then I realized there was blood on the bedside table.

"Fuck…" I turned Lorena around and saw her eyes open, and a massive head wound that didn't stop bleeding. "You're not dead, shit, you can't be dead…" I shook her hard but it did not work. "Wake up! Damn, wake up! You can't do this to me…"

Madden would ask questions, and if Lorena was one of his favorites, I was screwed. I couldn't hide what had happened, and couldn't get rid of the body without being seen. Or maybe…?

"Fucking awesome…" I picked her up and laid her on the bed, wrapped her in the sheet and hid her body in the bathroom. If someone walked into and saw what had happened then everyone would know. No, I had to buy some time to get rid of her and avoid the questions.

"Sorry, babe, but I won't carry with your death." I got her in the tub, with the sheet covering every inch of her skin, and closed the door. That night, when all slept, I'd slip away and borrow one of the cars. It'd be difficult, but I couldn't hide her body for much longer.

I tried pretending everything was fine when I left the bedroom and met with some of the guards. Not for talking, but to make sure to take the keys of one of the vehicles.

Tonight Lorena would be history.

* * *

**Do you hate Beeell as much as me? :D **

**Thanks for reading.**

**:K**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks so much for reading and reviewing the last chapters, you are all great.**

**Hope you like this one.**

**:K**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

* * *

**Eric POV**

Sookie was still asleep when it was already morning, but I decided not to wake her. After the previous day, we both needed to forget what happened and focus on the good things: we had a place to stay in, enough food, and weapons to defend ourselves if necessary.

But I understood Sookie was so affected. We both had killed many zombies, but seeing them transforming was very different. I almost could not stand it the first time, and I felt so sick that for a few minutes I was unable to move. It was as if life leave the body slowly, making everything human disappeared until nothing was left.

I wouldn't deny it, I also froze at the sight of this woman, but for the sake of both of us, I had to act quickly to get Sookie out of there. A single zombie wasn't a problem, but using the weapon would have attracted more.

"Eric…" I heard Sookie muttering my name, and I laid down beside her on the bed.

"I'm here, baby." I kissed her forehead and she opened her eyes. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" I brushed the hair off from her face, and lost myself in the reflection of her blue eyes.

"I'm fine, Eric, but I want you to stay with me in bed." We had nothing better to do, so I laid down beside her. "Do you think it was her who walked through the forest a few nights ago? Maybe she was the responsible for the noises we heard."

"It's possible," although I wasn't too convinced.

"You know, I prefer to think it was her and not many more zombies walking through this forest. You killed her, so the problem is over."

"Sookie, I had to." I knew she didn't blame for it, but it was hard for her to assimilate. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Sookie saw this woman when she was still human. "I had no…I had no choice…"

"I know, Eric." She sat down on bed and hugged me. "I'm not blaming you. She would have attacked me if she'd had the chance. Oh God, I'm sorry I made you believe otherwise, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She kissed me on the lips, and kept apologizing until I convinced her that I wasn't mad.

"It's just…" She shook her head, but when she looked me back, was grinning. "It's stupid because that woman was on her way to becoming a zombie, and neither I nor anyone else could have done anything about it. But…seeing her like that… I don't know what happened to me. I should have shot at her but I thought…"

"You thought she was hurt. Sookie, it's normal." I would have thought too. "You just wanted to help her, and that makes you a good person, but she could bit you."

"I know," she murmured, nodding. "And had it not been for you, she maybe would have. But…I froze, I think that's exactly what happened to me. It was so long since we'd seen a human being that in my desire… God, I feel like a fool." She buried her face in her hands, but she didn't have to be ashamed of.

"Sookie," I said, as I pulled her hands away from her face. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to help someone."

"Even if she wanted to bite me?" She asked laughing, and we relaxed immediately. "You know, I think I let myself go by the hope of finding someone else out there. And don't think that I came to her no more. I hesitated. I hesitated before letting her to see me because I had no idea whether it'd be safe or not. But she was all alone and I believed…what the hell?" And she shrugged. "She's just one, she can't hurt me."

"I waited until she transformed." I confessed. "I didn't want to kill her until she became one of them."

"I understand." She grabbed my hand, and I knew she was being honest with me. "But I thought someone had to die before becoming a zombie. That woman did before our eyes."

"I don't know," and it was true. "I've seen zombies rising hours after being infected, but others did in minutes. Perhaps the virus acts differently in each person. It's a mystery."

"What if it is evolving?"

"What do you mean?" I didn't know a lot about that damn virus. I preferred to stay alive than watch on the news the human race would perish.

"Think on it, Eric. If that virus that almost destroyed humanity is so lethal, what would prevent it from getting stronger? Scientists created something so powerful that they weren't able to control it. The virus killed nearly everyone in a matter of weeks, and the few of us who have survived did so because we refused to receive the vaccine." I wasn't even sure where she was going with this. "What I mean is, what if we're all infected? What if there isn't a way to stay alive although we weren't vaccinated with that shit? If the virus is in the air…"

"We'd be dead, Sookie." It was that simple. "I'm just a mechanic, I don't understand science. But if we have survived all this time is because we are not infected. It's impossible we are and still be alive." No, it was not possible. "You have seen what those people turned into, what they do when they're no longer themselves, and I assure you that won't happen to us."

"I hope you're right, Eric. Because if I become one of them, and you don't kill me, I'll return to bite you in the ass."

"Do you promise?" I launched at her, tickling her, and for the first time since we got back to the cabin, I could hear her laugh instead of seeing tears in her eyes.

* * *

**Bill POV**

"I thought you'd be spending time with one of your "friends". Why am I here?" Amy, always so friendly.

"I need your help." I said no more.

"Come again?" I knew to tell Madden that I had killed one of his girls – even by accident – would be like winning a ticket out of the mansion, and I wasn't prepared for that. "I don't know what you're up to, but not my problem. I'm not here to help you."

"It's important, and I really, really need you to help me." I practically had to drag her to the bedroom, and once inside I made sure to lock the door so no one could surprise us. "Look, I know you don't like me, but I've made sure no one touches you, so you can trust me."

"I do not trust you, Bill Compton. You're not trustworthy." I didn't care while she helped me. "What have you done that has you so scared, anyway? Not that I mind, but, you know."

"I need you to promise me that you won't say a word to anyone, understood?" I couldn't take risks, nor kill Amy. If it would be difficult to get rid of a corpse, a lot more than two. "Nobody knows, and it was an accident."

"What the hell are you talking about?" With her eyes narrowed, I knew she suspected something was going on. "Bill, what happened?" She demanded, but I was unable to talk about it. Instead I took her to the bathroom and opened the door.

"Oh my God…" She gasped, covering her mouth. "Tell me you haven't a body in there."

"Would you believe me if I said no?" Answering a question with another question was never a good sign, but I was desperate. "Listen, it was an accident, okay? I didn't want this to happen."

"Who is it?" She asked quietly.

"Lorena."

Her eyes opened wide. "Lorena? Oh God…you're so fucked up…" Yeah, I know. I had killed someone, although it wasn't on purpose. "Madden will be furious."

"Madden? Why?" I didn't need more problems than I already had.

"He likes Lorena…liked. Lorena liked to say that she was Madden's favorite. Apparently he found her in an abandoned house and they were together for days after he brought her here." She explained no more. Why the hell did I not know anything about that? "Some of the girls talk, and gossip about Victor being in love with her. Or he was."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! What are we going to do?" I snapped, pissed and desperate.

"We?" She asked with a grin, and a hand on her waist. "This is not my problem, Bill. Take care of it by yourself."

She started leaving, but I grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall. "Listen," I said, hissing. "It would be very easy for me to accuse you of trying to kill me, and you'd get back to that cell to stand Madden's whims and his guys after, is that what you want?" I'd use threats if necessary. "You have no choice but to help me, so I advise you to do it."

"Why did you kill her?" Why? I thought I made clear that part.

"Not on purpose!" I yelled. "We were in bed, and things went wrong, that's all."

"And she ended up dead? Come on, Bill!" She snapped, pulling my hand away from her arm. "No one would believe that story. What really happened?" I shook my head and didn't speak. "If you want my help, you have to tell me the truth."

I hesitated for a moment, but decided to take the easy way. "We fought and she locked up herself in the bathroom. Then she tried to keep…you know," I said, nodding toward the bed, "but I wasn't in the mood. I told her to stop but she didn't listen. She was completely insane, and I could barely control her. I reduced her by putting her face down on the mattress, but she turned around, fought, and she fell down to the floor."

"Go on." Amy demanded when I stopped.

It wasn't easy to explain, especially because I was in shock and I barely could concentrate. "I went to the bathroom to wash the blood off of my face. She scratched me all over, and when I got back to the bedroom I saw her on the floor." Amy closed her eyes and breathed deeply, letting out a heavy sigh. "I thought she was pretending, but when I approached her I saw there was blood on the bedside table, and Lorena wasn't moving."

"Did you check her pulse?" Did she believe I was stupid?

"Yes! She was dead, with her eyes open and a huge wound in the head. There was blood on the floor, and I had to clean everything before anyone realized what happened." I sat at the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands. "It was an accident, a stupid accident."

"Then tell Madden." She said no more. Had she gone completely insane? That would be like shooting at myself. "He will understand. If it happened as you told me, then no one else is guilty. Not even you." She added, as a personal comment. "It'll be easier than trying to get rid of a corpse in a mansion surrounded by guards, don't you think?"

"I can't do that. Victor Madden mustn't know what happened. I'll get rid of her body, and you're gonna help me." The conversation was over.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

"Would it be possible to get out exploring the woods again? I think we might have more luck going in another direction." Eric put the gun he was cleaning on the table, and looked at me.

"Maybe a little later. I think we've had enough excitement for now." I wouldn't pressure him, but I preferred to have some idea of what was out there. With Eric driving the Jeep so fast I could barely see what we had around us. "But it's a great idea, and it'd be a good way to know if we're alone or not."

"I think we're alone, Eric."

"Really?" No, I couldn't be sure, but I preferred to think that instead of imagining zombies attacking the cabin.

I moved by his side, and put his arm around my shoulders. "I'm not entirely sure, of course, but I have the feeling this place has a lot of possibilities for us. We're safe here."

"For the moment."

"Come on, you can't be so negative. We haven't been attacked." That tipped the balance in our favor. "And that's good 'cause we don't waste gas or bullets, and we ration the food and water more easily."

"Uh, it's true."

"So, for the first time in months, we're lucky. Just think only on the positive." I gave him a kiss on the cheek, and got up to go to the bathroom. Not only had we found a place to hide, also could wash ourselves and lead a fairly normal life.

We had no luxuries – we didn't need them – but I think if we were to leave now and return to the road, I would find it very hard to get used to that life again.

The tent was a solution, and with a river close it was much better, but we both knew sooner or later that option would have failed to us.

"Sookie," I heard him knocking on the door, but I didn't open it. "I'll check the Jeep's battery, be right back."

"Alright."

I was still worried he went outside. Yes, zombies hadn't appeared, but that could change at any time. And there, thinking about the uncertain future awaiting for us, nausea invaded me and I barely had time to get to the toilet to throw up.

"Shit…" I muttered, and threw up again.

I don't know how long I was there, but I heard Eric getting back in, so I hurried to wash up and open the door.

"Hey, how's the car?" Eric cared too much for me, and he'd think I was sick if I told him.

"The car is good. Ready to go if necessary." I hoped we hadn't come to that. "You look a little pale." He touched my cheek, but I moved away and found something interesting to do in the bedroom. "Sookie, what is it?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Fortunately I didn't throw up for the rest of the day, but Eric kept looking at me sideways, and I began getting nervous. Not that I didn't thank him to worry about me, but I felt fine. No need to watch me like a hawk.

"You know, maybe we should use something to cover the windows." I said no more. I was desperately trying to start a conversation to break the awkward silence. "The wind could throw branches against the glass and break them, and we haven't the necessary tools to make repairs."

"Yeah, good idea." He replied, still staring at me.

I didn't know what else to say, I was speechless, and Eric didn't help to improve the moment.

"Eric…" But I said nothing. Did he expect an explanation? I had none, I just felt bad and that's all.

"Are you all right, Sookie?" The big question.

"Yes, Eric." I nodded and nodded. I'm not sure how many times I did, but I wasn't able to stop. "I threw up before. Actually I threw up a few times, but it was because…well, I don't know, I just got dizzy and that's it. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Eric got up from the couch and knelt before me. "I'm not accusing you of anything, Sookie, and I'm not demanding a confession. But I care for you. I have since the first moment I saw you, and I won't change now." He took my hands in his, and stroked my wrists. "I love you, Sookie Stackhouse, and I'm in love with you." I stood there with my mouth hanging open. They were the last words I expected to hear getting out of his lips. "You may think it's crazy because we barely know each other, and we met in strange circumstances…but I love you, Sookie. I think I've loved you from the first moment we met, and I've never felt for anyone the way I feel for you."

"Sookie, I love you." He repeated again while I stood frozen, unable to comprehend how this man was in love with me. "And if you say nothing, never mind. Because I'll still love you."

I stared at him, feeling my eyes flooded with tears. "God, I'm sorry, Sook. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No!" I stopped him when was going to stand up. "Eric, I love you too. I even was about to write it in my diary, but I was afraid you read it and ran away." I confessed, laughing and crying at the same time. "I love you, Eric Northman, and I wish to be with you forever."

It was like lifting off a huge load from shoulders when I told Eric that I loved him. I hadn't even realized how much I wished to tell him until I did. And I found amazing he made the first move.

"And now I'll make love to you." He picked me up, surprising me, but we didn't even arrive to the bedroom. As the first night we got to the cabin, we made love in front of the fireplace. The fire had heated the inside, although it wasn't as cold as the first few days, but feeling the warmth of the flames caressing my skin was a wonderful sensation.

"Sookie, I love you, baby, I love you so much." Kisses and caresses, until a few seconds later I felt him inside me, making me experience the most intense pleasure. "God, you're unbelievable, Sookie, and I'll always love you."

"AHHHH! Eric, don't stop. I love you too…" Guess words weren't necessary when we were proving how we felt about each other so intensely. "You're so fucking good at what you do…" It'd be a good massage to his ego, but I didn't care.

"You're fucking amazing, baby." His fingers stroked my breasts, surrounding my nipples, and while he kept moving himself in and out, in, out, in…out. "I love you, Sookie, I love you…I love you…I love you…"

"OHHHHHH, ERIC!" I yelled, clinging to his shoulders when I felt I was about to reach the maximum pleasure. "Don't stop, Eric…please…please…" I felt my nails digging into the skin of his back, leaving marks that would prove that I was enjoying so much.

"You know, I had never had sex with someone I loved." He confessed, whispering and brushing the soaked hair off from my face. "I believed sex was just sex, but now I realize that's much more when you're in love."

"Haven't you ever been in love?" His confession surprised me. I was but it didn't work.

He shrugged while leaning on one elbow. "It's not so weird. I told you that women saw me as one night's fun, and nothing more."

"But you were living with a girl…" I started saying, but I wasn't sure it was my business. "Sorry, I shouldn't force you to talk about it."

"It doesn't matter, Sookie. Guess it would have been harder if one of us had been in love with the other. We weren't, but we believed living together we'd come to be." He sighed heavily, and leaned down to kiss the tip of my nose. "I'm in love now, and I love it."

"You think we're crazy for being in love when the world is falling apart?" It was something that haunted me. "Sometimes I feel guilty 'cause we kept going on when others didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones." Why did I have guilty feelings after enjoying sex with Eric? "It's strange we're still living a normal life when they're not even human anymore."

"At first I thought they received what they deserved for getting that damn vaccine."

"And now?"

He shook his head a few times, in silence. "I don't know. I feel sorry for them, but at the same time I wish they all die so we can feel safe again. Being constantly persecuted and in danger is not how I'd have imagined I'd spend the rest of my days." I stroked his cheek, and he kissed the inside of my hand. "If that makes me a bad person…"

"You are not, Eric."

"I thought if I cried for them, I wouldn't feel like a real bastard to shoot them in the head."

"I've killed too, Eric, but I stopped feeling guilty a long time ago. It's survival. It's them or us." Maybe both of us would burn in hell for trying to stay alive, killing before being killed, but it wasn't something that worried me at the moment. "Do you think they wouldn't bite you if they had a chance? They would, and you know it. They're unable to think because they're not alive anymore. It's sad to see them walking to nowhere, seeking food. But most of them would get a bullet and everything will be over."

"A shot in the head," he murmured. "Guess that's the only good thing we can do for them."

Life is change. Or at least that's what I've heard all my life. If life is really change, was this enough? I prefer to believe that life is pain and suffering, because that's what always happens. We lose loved ones we care for, bad things happen to good people, or in our case, a deadly virus almost completely extinguished the human race.

"What are you thinking?" We were still in front of the fireplace, enjoying its warmth, and our bodies touching each other.

"I thought…I thought about all that crappy philosophy I used to hear when people drank more than they could stand. 'Life is change', they used to say, but really life is unfair. I think you can define it with that word, because if it were fair, none of this would have happened."

"Life has been fair to us, Sookie. We are here, we are alive, and we are together."

"Yes, and that's more than enough for me." I kissed him softly, but soon that chaste kiss became much more passionate. "Ready for round two?" I whispered against his lips, which were still touching mine.

"Oh Sookie, try to stop me."

* * *

**That was it, hope you like it.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**:K**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi there,**

**Here's a new chapter, so hope you like it.**

**Have a nice weekend.**

**:K**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

* * *

**Bill POV**

"We won't get it." It was the fourth, fifth, or maybe sixth time I heard the same thing, and it was starting to piss me off. "There are guards everywhere, we won't get out without being seen."

"Trust me." I said no more, hoping it was enough, but of course, with Amy that was only in theory.

"I don't trust you, Bill. You should know that." We kept carrying Lorena's dead body downstairs, quietly, and watching so no one followed us or showed up suddenly. "And you're forcing me to do something horrible and despicable." She scolded me in whispers.

"She's already dead," I hissed through clenched teeth. "It doesn't matter now, don't you think? I'm doing everything possible to get rid of a fucking problem, so I don't need to hear a fucking sermon right now."

"You're a fucking psycho…" she muttered, but we continued downstairs until we reached the first floor.

"Wait here." I leaned the body against the wall, and made sure Amy hold it. "I'll go to take a look." I left before she could protest, and realized it was late enough so everyone was sleeping. Not that I cared the women saw the body – that would teach them a lesson – but I didn't want them to panic.

I heard voices – the guards probably – but they were far away. Far enough so they couldn't hear us.

"Let's go." I mumbled, grabbing Lorena's body by the side of the head. "We'll go back. We'll get a car and get out of here to dump the body near the forest. The zombies will take care of it."

"Zombies don't eat dead meat."

"Lorena is still fresh." I said no more, looking at Amy's wide open eyes. "Don't look at me like that," I hissed. "I'm doing what I must. It was an accident, but I won't take the blame for what happened."

Luck seemed to be with us, because there was no one watching the shed where most of the vehicles were. I found it weird, but I wouldn't go looking for one of the guards to tell. "Open the trunk." But she opened the back door instead. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"It's nighttime, and the zombies are more active. If you put her in the trunk we won't have enough time to leave her somewhere, and getting back in the car before being attacked, don't you think?" Good thinking, but I wouldn't admit it. "Got a better idea?"

"Okay. Help me getting her in."

I knew the mansion and the surroundings, but at night it was much harder to know where we were headed. We had to leave the property before turning on the headlights, otherwise we would be detected, and we'd have to give many, many explanations. The first one: why did we have a dead body with us? No, Lorena's death shouldn't ever been discovered.

"I still can't believe I'm helping you with this," Amy scolded me from the back seat. "You killed a person! And I'm an accomplice now because of you!"

"Shut the fuck up! I'm trying to drive." I was beginning to think that I was driving in circles, because I couldn't see anything, and had the feeling that I always saw the same tree. "If we keep going around, they'd end up seeing us." I mumbled, and just then I saw a gate. "Yes!" I drove quickly towards what seemed an exit, and in minutes we were on the road.

"Where are we?" Looking at the rearview I saw Amy sitting on the edge of her seat. She didn't want Lorena's body to touch her. "You better remember the way back, otherwise we'll be screwed."

"You think I'm stupid?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" I glared at her through the rearview, but I didn't say a word. I preferred to ignore her at the time. We had more important and dangerous matters to deal with. "Let's finish with this for once, although I'll be unable to forget it."

"You should start trying, 'cause if you open your mouth, I will kill you." She gave me a gesture with her middle finger, but I kept looking to the road. I could still see the mansion lights behind us, but we were far enough to do what we came to.

I stopped the car to the side of the road and turned off the lights. It was dangerous to go out when it was dark, but it wouldn't take us too long. "This is a good place." I muttered before opening the door. "Come on, we'll leave her here." I grabbed Lorena's body, and waited for Amy to get out. "We'll throw her near the trees, and we'll forget the whole thing."

"You're a monster…"

"Shut the fuck up! And use the flashlight, if you don't want them to eat us alive." Amy did as I told – for once – and we started walking, getting into the darkness. We could have thrown her out from the car, but what if Madden or his guys found her?

Amy kept moving the flashlight from one side to the other, and she was getting on my nerves. "Stop moving it, or they'll find us."

"My hands are shaking, I can't help it."

We had walked about twenty or thirty meters, when I heard a noise. Seemed footsteps.

"Turn off the light!" I yelled whispering. "Turn it off!" Amy wasn't able to press the button, and when she finally did, we hid behind some rocks, high enough to go unnoticed. "Be quiet…" I warned her, and we were completely immobile. We still had Lorena's body with us, but we would leave it behind when we could sneak out and run back to the car.

I peeked above the rock, and I could distinguish in the dark the figures of at least two dozen of zombies wandering around. They were of all ages and races, including kids, and I wanted to throw up when I saw that one of them was missing half of the head. I breathed deeply, closing my eyes and praying they passed by.

I knew the zombies smelled us, but I expected us to be far enough for them not to be able to detect us. We could always run, but I wasn't sure and more might appear in the other direction. After all they showed up out of nowhere, and they were so quiet that we barely had time to hide.

"Why don't you use the gun?" I glared at her, but didn't answer. "They'll find us sooner or later. Shooting against some of them will give us time to escape."

"I don't have a gun!"

"WHAT?!" I covered her mouth, and peeked over the rock again to make sure we hadn't been discovered. "What are you, idiot?" She slapped my hand away, and continued lecturing me in the woods. "Don't you know anything? You can't go outside without being armed…"

"I know!" I warned her to keep her mouth shut, and stood up again to continue watching. If there weren't too many they would have gone by now. "Don't make a noise." I was going to look again when I felt something dripping on the rock. It was a thick, black liquid. "Shit…" Looking up I found a zombie who was missing half of the mouth, and kept dripping blood. That was what didn't stop dripping, and it was about to fall on my skin. I know I won't become one of them only for that, but I knew we had to get outta there as soon as possible.

"Run!" I shouted to Amy, and we both got up and ran back to the car, leaving Lorena's body behind us. With a little luck they would feed on her and forget about us.

It didn't matter they saw the flashlight. We had worst problems now, and running was the only option.

Amy ran in front of me, moving the flashlight toward everywhere, finding a different zombie every time. They were surrounding us like a pack of hungry wolves, and if we didn't get back to the car, we might serve as food for these bastards.

"WHERE IS THE CAR?!" Amy yelled, but I ignored her and continued running. "BILL!"

"Keep running!" I snapped, still looking over my shoulder every few seconds. We were being followed, or rather chased, and I when I looked ahead, I stumbled against a branch. "SHIT!" I tried to get free but I was tangled. "Fuck… Fuck! Amy, help me!" They were almost over me, and I began crying when I realized I wouldn't get to escape.

* * *

**Sookie POV**

_My dearest diary,_

_I'm happy._

_I'm so happy I had to write it._

_Eric and I confessed how much we love each other, and since then I've felt like the world was no longer as scary. Is that possible? Being with someone you love makes everything simpler? Even in the crazy world we live?_

_Unanswered questions, but for the first time in my life, I don't care if I don't ever answer them. I'm with the person I love, and that's all that matters. Perhaps it's ridiculous to think that love conquers all, because love will not make zombies disappear, nor will bring the world back to what it was. But if we are unable to love, what hope is there?_

_Guess, who reads these words, if anyone reads them someday, realized what I try to explain. No matter if that person is not in love, because you don't need to be to know what I'm talking about. A mother, a child, or a friend. That's love, and we all have known._

_When this madness began, I felt alone, literally. I was alone and locked up in that store, with no hope of staying alive. All would end sooner or later, and I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to survive for much longer._

_And then he showed up. It was like a light at the end of the tunnel, and since then I haven't separated from him. Together we have faced all kinds of situations, from the most dangerous to the most intimate and romantic. We've had good and bad moments, but we always stayed together. That is love, isn't it? When you love someone as strong as I do, nothing else matters if you are with that person. The good times are even better, and the bad ones don't seem so bad after all._

_I guess my words may sound corny, like getting them out from a movie or romance novel, but seeing Eric sleeping next to me in bed, makes me smile as I hadn't done in a long time. And that's something we have to get used to again. Maybe the world in which we live is dark, dangerous and violent, but it's also magical and special. No, I'm not crazy, although it may seem I am. But you, dear reader, put yourself in my place. If you are to find love, the most special person in your life during the apocalypse, would you change everything even if you didn't see that person again?_

_My answer is no._

_What is yours?_

_I would love to hear that answer someday, and know the person who gets to read these words._

_I would like very much._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I closed the notebook and put it back in my bag, feeling better for having written it all.

Eric was still asleep, lying on his back in bed, while I couldn't look away from his naked torso, with the sheet tangled to his waist. He was so handsome and calm…

I got up and left the bag in the corner of the bedroom, but I didn't lie to his side again. I couldn't sleep, and for the first time it wasn't because I was afraid. I was fine and so happy that I felt butterflies in my stomach. Yeah, a cliché, I know, but I can't think of a better way to define it. I'm in love with Eric, and I realized I had never really been before. I never had such deep feelings towards another person.

"Sook…" I heard him mutter, but he turned around and went back to sleep.

"I love you, Eric." I answered him, though I knew he didn't hear me.

I looked out the window and outside. It was raining again, but not as hard as the last few times. It was a light rain, even relaxing, so I went back to bed and curled up next to my beloved.

He hugged me against me, and kissed me on the forehead. All that with eyes closed. I felt safe and fell asleep thinking about how much things had changed and improved since Eric Northman came into my life.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Eric, are you sure?"

"Yeah, baby. I'm convinced." On the table in the small kitchen, Eric spread the map we carried with us. "We are in this area, not too far from the road, but hidden enough so the zombies pass by. Not a lot of distance to the nearest town."

"I don't know…"

"Sookie, we're running out of supplies. We have no choice." I know he was right, but the idea didn't convince me yet. "They're twenty miles or so, if we got out at dawn we'll have more than enough time to take a look, grab what we need, and get back to the cabin." I nodded silently, and Eric grabbed my hand. "I know it's risky, but I'm afraid there's no other option. We have food and water for a couple more of days, but that's it. In and out."

"I know."

"I can go alone…"

"No!" I replied, perhaps too sharply. "We're a team, Eric. We'll do it together."

It wasn't still dawn and we were already awake and ready for action.

"I've locked the door and closed all the windows. It'll look like no one lives here, so we'll know if someone has entered." I nodded, and put my backpack in the back seat. It was cold, so Eric lent me his jacket. I was beginning to think he liked me to wear it, 'cause it was so long since the last time I saw him wearing it.

"Aren't you cold?" A chill ran down my spine when I saw him wearing short sleeve. "I can't stop shaking." He smiled, and began rubbing my arms. I felt much better, and we set off.

"I should have practiced with the gun." I mumbled, but Eric chuckled. "Don't laugh, it's true. Besides, who will save your ass the next time zombies attack us?" I hoped they had left after finding no food, but I was pretty sure we would find some of them.

"Hope we're lucky than the last times." Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. "Also, we'll be ready, and everything seems less frightening under the sunlight, don't you think?"

"Monster always come out at dusk." I replied, without remembering whether I had heard or read that phrase somewhere before. "But I hope you're right, and we don't see us involved in another mess. I think we've had in too many."

"I agree." He turned on the Jeep and abandoned the cabin. I kept looking back until I lost sight. We took all our belongings with us, just in case, but I wished with all my strength to get back to where I had found happiness.

Eric grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. "We're getting back, Sookie. Sooner than you think." He kissed my knuckles, and we continued our way.

The sun was already illuminating everything when we stopped at a gas station on the outskirts of the town. There wasn't zombies close by, but Eric caught the weapons and I did the same.

"Ready?" I nodded, grabbing the gun firmly. "Good. Let's go inside." Eric, as always, walked in first and noiselessly. He checked that all was quiet, and then I did the same. "All clear. You take the good that hasn't rotted and the water. I'll take care of the fuel."

"Is a good idea to get separated?"

"I'll be outside, Sookie. You can see me through the glass. Everything will be fine." He kissed me, and told me he loved me before leaving.

"Love you too," I muttered when he was out. "Okay Sookie, it's time to focus." I walked shelf after shelf, but only found melted or scattered chocolate on the floor. I wouldn't eat something people have walked over, I was one hundred percent convinced of that.

"Please, a little luck. Just a little bit." I begged aloud, and turned around to keep browsing. More of the same, even blood on the floor. This place, like the rest we had been in, was attacked by zombies, and probably there would be remnants of bodies somewhere.

I finally could find some cans that appeared to be good, and a couple of bottles of water. Well, better than nothing. I checked around again, just in case I missed something, and found chocolate that seemed to be in good state. It wasn't the healthiest meal, but who was going to judge me?

Eric was right. Under the sunlight this place looked almost normal, except it was a mess, but at night it would be scary. I could almost imagine what this place looked before everything went to hell. The typical student behind the counter, watching TV or playing with his cell phone. Complaining about the night shift, and praying that no guys made a mess.

"Sookie." I jumped hearing Eric's voice, but I pretend the best I could. "Did you find anything?" I showed the chocolate, and he shook his head grinning. "We've been luck with the gas. Come on, time to go."

I left quickly, closing the bag, and we returned to the car. It had been easy, perhaps too easy.

"Everything was destroyed, but I got water and some food." Eric nodded, focusing on the road. "There was blood on the floor."

"Did you see anything?" He asked, worried.

"No. There was no body, but the blood… I bet someone was attacked and fled. Hence the blood." I explained. "Guess the zombies didn't find anyone who feed on."

"So it seems."

For the rest of the trip we said nothing. The silence was not tense or embarrassing, but I think we both needed to be prepared for what we could find when we got to that town. I hoped, as in the gas station, the zombies were gone long ago, but I couldn't tell even if I wished with my all my strength.

"There it is." Eric muttered, looking straight ahead. "Okay. We've done this before, Sook. We'll take a look from the car, and then we get in. It'll be okay, baby. I promise."

"I believe you."

It seemed all was quiet, but it was always like that when we arrived. Cars were overturned and smashed, glass and rubbish everywhere. Guns and tools, but also blood, in large quantities, and bodies piled up on the sidewalks. They were rotting under the sunlight, and bugs had already begun to do their work.

"I think there's no one alive here." I couldn't agree more with him, but they weren't the living ones I was worried about. "Zombies move in packs, looking for food, and if they haven't found it, they'll have moved on."

"You think so?" I didn't doubt of his words, but I wasn't convinced they had left this place no more. "Some tend to stay in the area, as if they were familiar to it."

"They can't remember anything, Sookie. They're dead." He said, shrugging.

"You think they have no memory once they become zombies?" Again a shrug. "I believe it might be a possibility. Maybe that would explain why some of them don't leave. It's possible they're able to remember that they once lived in a house. Like the woman in the car."

"That woman hadn't yet been turned, Sookie. It's different."

"Yeah, I know. She transformed in front of me, remember?" I gave him a shy smile, and he chuckled. "I guess I want to believe they are actually as confused and scared as us. When I saw that woman… I dunno, she looked terrified, that somehow, she knew what was happening to her, and she knew it was the end. There was no magic spell that could restore her life, and I think she was getting back to her car because she believed she'd be safe there."

"Maybe."

"I prefer to think so, instead of accepting the harsh reality. They were like us before, Eric, and now…now they're monsters. Monsters created by a deadly virus that was about to extinguish the human race." I laughed at the irony. "They wanted to turn us into immortal and indestructible, and all they got was a worldwide epidemic that devastated the planet. It's funny if you think about it…" Eric looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that, it's true. There's some poetic justice in what happened. The scientists created a deadly virus, and they were the first to die. As if they deserved it."

"I don't believe they deserved it." He answered quickly.

"I know, and I don't think so. But it's what it seems."

Eric stopped the car but we remained still and silent for a few minutes. We had to get out, it was inevitable, but I believe we both needed to be physically and mentally prepared for it.

"Let's go."

We walked into what looked like a small market, where, fortunately, we were able to gather a lot of food and a lot more water than the couple of bottles I found at the gas station.

"This is great…" I mumbled, but we heard a noise. "What was that?"

"I don't know. But we're not going to find out." Eric carried most of things, and I took care to pick up some more. There was still a lot, but we couldn't carry all with us. Also, I'd feel guilty if someone else came by and there was nothing left.

"We should go now." Eric said suddenly, alarming me. He always remained calm, but he looked nervous. Did he know something I didn't?

"We could grab a few more things, Eric. I've seen coolers, and if we fill them with ice…"

"The meat and fish rotted long ago. But it might serve for water." Eric carried with it, and although I insisted on helping, he said it wasn't necessary. "Fruit rotted too, so it's useless."

We left the market and we were about to get back, when Eric suddenly stopped.

"What is it? Zombies?" I asked, looking around.

"No. But those trucks…" I looked over his shoulder and then saw it. They were huge and looked like they were going through the town. "Who are they?" I asked, as if he had more information than I did. "What are they doing?" Stupid questions followed one after another.

"It seems they're coming here." Eric grabbed my arm and we started running, but I stopped. "Sookie, what are you doing?" I caught the cooler but couldn't lift it. "Leave that! We gotta go."

"It is important…" I begged, so Eric finally grabbed it, and we ran to the Jeep.

"Let's go, we gotta go." We put the cooler in the back seat, and threw the backpacks as well. The trunk was completely full. Eric turned on and backed down to get away through the same place by which we had entered. "That was close…"

"I still don't get it. Maybe they could have helped us." But deep down I knew they wouldn't have done. "They looked like soldiers. Perhaps they're looking for survivors." Eric didn't say a word. "Are you listening me?" I asked, feeling frustrated.

"We can trust no one, Sookie." And we set off back to the cabin.

* * *

**That was all.**

**:D**

**I'd to read your reviews.**

**Thanks a lot for reading.**

**:K**


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